Just Us
by Thundercatlost
Summary: Pearl is shattered unexpectedly and the other gems are corrupted. Steven and Peridot are the only Crystal Gems remaining. With Steven's newly-found power to talk to shattered gems in his dreams and Peridot's logic and quick thinking, they are the only Gems who can save the Earth from Homeworld's next attack. [Rated T for Violence, Stevidot/Periven]
1. Chapter 1 - Shattered

_**Hello!**_

 _ **My name is Thundercatlost - welcome to my story! This is my first story (and my main story) that I've written on this website :D**_

 _ **Whether you're reading for the first time or re-reading, thanks for joining me. This website is my online home, to be quite honest. Thanks for being awesome everyone on the internet.**_

 ** _(Minor Story Spoilers) There is a character called Topaz in this story. I wrote this story on 31st December 2016, thus Canon Topaz wasn't a thing. My oc is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. If you have trouble with remembering the difference (like me...), my Topaz that looks more like Lapis._**

 _ **This story takes place after Room for Ruby, instead of Doug Out and all episodes afterwards.**_

 _ **For those of you who haven't read one of my stories before, I LOVE to read your reviews. Leave a review if you like - it's always a pleasure to read your thoughts - that's why I love this website so much!**_ _ **Anyway, enough talking, let's get straight into the story!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Steven rubbed his eyes as he woke up. Today was his fifteenth birthday and the Crystal Gems had promised they'd spend the day with him. Excited, he clambered down the stairs and was greeted with a hug from Peridot and Lapis. He hugged them back – he hadn't seen Peridot and Lapis in ages. He'd always been busy going on missions with the others, he hadn't had much time spare. He'd missed them so much.

"Hope you don't mind we came!" Lapis said, letting go of him. Steven smiled in return. There was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl smiling at him.

"Happy birthday Steven!" Everyone yelled. Garnet, being the strongest gem of the group, held out the cake in front of him. The cake was in the shape of a Cookie Cat (one of Steven's favourite snacks), much to Steven's delight. He blew out the fifteen silver candles, a large grin on his face. He'd only just woken up and it was already one of the greatest birthdays he'd ever had.

"Thanks guys! How d-" Steven began but was cut off by Garnet, whose face was now filled with worry.

"There's a corrupted gem in Empire City. If we don't go now, it could hurt the people there... or worse," She announced. "We need to go,"

"Aww! Oh well, see ya Steve-man!" Amethyst said, in half-happy, half-sad tone as she used the warp pad in the center of the room.

"WHAT?!" Steven yelled. They had planned to spend the day with them and they were leaving for probably the rest of the day.

"We're very sorry," Pearl added. Her face was showed a lot of sadness. Steven could tell she had really wanted to spend time with him on his fifteenth birthday. Steven spoke up.

"But we haven't eaten cake! We haven't even opened my presents!" Steven complained.

"It's ok, Steven. We can do it tomorrow," Pearl suggested, though her expression showed she too was sad. She was about to warp when Garnet stopped her.

"Pearl can stay here if she wants. Amethyst and I have got this," said, smiling at Steven.

Steven's eyes turned to stars.

"Are you sure that you don't need me to help?" Pearl asked Garnet, excited but worried too.

"Yep" Garnet answered. "Now you all go have fun," She stepped on the Warp Pad and teleported away. Steven, Peridot, Lapis, and Pearl stood still for a moment, unsure of what to say. The silence was broken by Peridot.

"What do we do now?" She asked. Pearl turned to Steven.

"What would you like to do today, Steven?" She asked him. Steven paused unsure as to what to do. For some odd reason, he really wanted to do some sword practice... but Connie was away on holiday. What would he do...?

"How about you and I have a competition, Pearl?" He eventually answered. Everyone stared back at him. Pearl raised an eyebrow.

"What sort of competition?"

"A duel!" Steven said, stars in his eyes. Pearl was shocked. She had always known Steven would challenge her to a fight one day but she certainly didn't expect it that soon. Though, deep inside, she knew that Steven was ready. She was ready.

"If that's what you want, Steven," She answered, smiling. Steven grinned a massive grin. He was excited – he had always wanted to challenge her. He'd always wanted to show Peridot and Lapis all of his powers.

"Can we watch?" Lapis asked, an excited look on her face. Peridot shared her expression.

"Of course!" Steven replied. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Everybody stepped onto the warp pad together, everyone smiling and anticipating the duel.

* * *

A few minutes later, Steven and Pearl stood in opposite corners of the Ancient Sky Arena, Pearl with her spear and Steven with Rose's Sword. Sat in the seats were Peridot and Lapis.

"Go Steven!" Peridot yelled. Steven blushed as the others started yelling supportive messages to him. As confident as he was, there was still a nervousness inside him. He knew how skilled Pearl was and he doubted he'd even get close to her.

"Are you ready?" Steven asked Pearl, in a determined tone. Her broad smile widened upon her face as she gripped her spear tighter.

"I always be r-"

She stopped mid-word, her face immediately changing from her determined look to one of pain and fear. She dropped her spear. Panicking, Steven ran to her as fast as he could, dropping his shield.

"Pearl?" He asked, running towards her. She screamed as she fell to her knees. Steven skidded to her side as quick as he could. He could hear Peridot and Lapis running up behind him.

"PEARL?" He called again. She didn't respond. Scared, he lifted her head up. What he saw shocked him.

Her gem was almost completely cracked. Her eyes were pure white, similar to the way Lapis' were when he had first saved her from the mirror but he knew whatever was happening to Pearl was worse. He'd never seen a gem cracked that badly. He heard Peridot and Lapis stop behind him. He turned around to see them both staring at Pearl tears in their eyes.

"What's happening to Pearl?" Steven asked, his eyes filled with tears. Peridot and Lapis were speechless, crying as they knelt down beside him. Confused and scared, he asked them again.

"What's happening to Pearl?"

"I...I..." Peridot tried to speak but she was crying too much. Pearl screamed again as her gem cracked even further.

"Steven..." Lapis whispered, gripping his arm tightly. By this point, Steven was petrified. He didn't care about anything else in that moment. He just wanted to help Pearl. In his heart, he knew what was going on – Pearl was shattering. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want this. He had wanted to have a great birthday with his family but now, he was watching one of them shatter. Lapis spoke up, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"I'll take Steven home. Peridot, you know what to do," she told Peridot, shaking in fear. Steven wanted to stay to try to heal Pearl.

"LET ME HELP HER!" Steven yelled staring Lapis in the eyes.

"Let Lapis take you home. I promise everything will be ok," Peridot lied, sweating crazily. Steven could see that he couldn't help, no matter what. He stared at Pearl's cracking gem. Unsure of what to say or do, he stood motionlessly for a few moments, before Lapis took his hand.

"Let's go. If any of us can help her, it's Peridot but we'll need to leave them alone," Lapis explained gripping Steven's hand tighter. He didn't see the logic but hearing the truth in her voice, Steven ran with her to the Warp Pad, tears rolling down his cheeks. As it started up, he looked up at the sky.

"She'll be alright, won't she, Lapis?" Lapis stayed silent, unsure of how to reply. She sighed.

"I don't know, Steven. I really don't know," and the Warp Pad teleported them home.

* * *

Steven stared up at the ceiling above him. He was in his room in temple. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop worrying about Pearl.

The last he'd seen of her was two hours ago, when Lapis had taken him to the temple before flying off to find Garnet and Amethyst. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep as he laid down on his bed. He opened his eyes to find his gem glowing. Except, it wasn't glowing it's normal pink colour – it was glowing dark red.

" _What on Earth does that mean?_ " he wondered. That's when it hit him. He knew what this meant. His eyes filled with tears, which then leaked from his eyes.

" _Pearl..._ " He didn't want to accept it – he couldn't.

" _She can't be..._ " He closed his eyes and thought of every adventure they'd had together, the fun conversations, everything. As he though of those happy memories, he drifted off into the world of sleep.

* * *

" _Where am I?" Steven said to himself. This was one of the weirdest dreams he'd ever had. Everything around him was pitch black. He looked around. There was nothing. Nobody. Then he saw somebody stood crying in the distance._

" _HELLO?" He called out, running towards the figure. The figure turned around._

" _Steven?" The figure asked. It was a purple gem. Her body and hair were velvet-coloured. She was tall, roughly only a few centimetres taller than Pearl. She wore a short blue dress, a purple star upon her left shoulder._

" _Who are you and how do you know my name?" Steven asked the stranger. He was scared. First Pearl had shattered unexpectedly and now he had somehow contacted a random Gem in his dream who somehow knew his name._

" _Steven? You don't... remember me?" The figure asked, beginning to tear up. Steven stood motionlessly infront of her. Thats when he saw that she had no pupils and that the oval-shaped, white and purple gem on her forehead was cracked very badly._

" _Pearl? Is that you?" He asked her. The gem hugged him tightly._

" _You remember!" She replied, letting him go._

" _W-What happened to you?" He asked. Pearl sat cross-legged on the 'ground' and motioned for Steven to sit down too. Slowly, sat down infront of her and looked nervously into her blank eyes._

" _Peridot managed to save me. Well, partially anyway. My memory is quite faded and I can only remember a few things. I'm somebody else now. I-" She stopped as she realised Steven was crying heavily. She hugged him. "Shh... Stop crying... It's ok..." Steven relaxed and stopped crying as she spoke._

 _She was ok. Well, not really, but she was still alive._

" _Well, who are you now then?" He asked her, wiping the remaining tears out of his eyes._

"Well, _I would guess I'm a Taaffeite but I'm not entirely sure if that's the case," She replied, looking at her hands. "If I'm remember correctly, gems become a Taaffeite when they are somehow revived while shattering. Though, my memories are quite faded... you'll just have to ask Peridot. Just call me Pearl for now. After all, I'm still me,"_

" _What's going to happen to you when I wake up?" Steven asked her._

" _Again, you'll have to ask Peridot on that one," Pearl replied. "I've also no idea how and why you managed to contact me but let's hope that it's a good reason and not a bad one,"_

" _I think I'm waking up," He added, standing up. "I promise I'll help you!"_

" _I'll see you back in reality," Pearl replied, a broad smile upon her face. "Goodbye, Steven!"_

" _See you soon, Pearl!" He yelled as he began to wake up from the dream. "Bye!"_


	2. Chapter 2 - The Corruption Song

Steven woke to the sound of a shriek. Staring him straight in the eyes was Peridot, who was sweating heavily with panic.

"STEVEN!" She yelled, hugging him tightly. "YOU'RE OK!" Steven blushed a little as she hugged him. Realising he was uncomfortable, Peridot let go and blushed a very dark green.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" He questioned, looking into Peridot's eyes. Something was bothering her. Really bothering her.

"The diamonds are back and..." She paused as she began to tear up. Steven noticed this and quickly grabbed an unused tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Better?" He asked, putting the tissue into his pocket. Peridot gave him an appreciative smile before her face turned back into a look of fear and worry.

"There was a song and now..." She paused as she felt the sadness was over her again. "...Everyone is corrupted," Steven froze, unsure of how to react. He felt a tear run down his cheek, followed by another. Peridot grabbed the tissue out of his pocket and wiped his eyes.

"Explain to me what happened. Exactly what happened," He asked her, trying to be brave. Peridot took a deep breath.

"Well, I managed to save Pearl, as you probably have realised. I heard the Warp Pad make it's regular teleporting noise as Lapis walked over to me. She said that you were asleep and the other Gems were heading home. Then, I heard it - the corruption song. I looked upwards, trying to figure out where it was coming from. There was a loud screech. I looked down and saw Lapis but she was corrupted and..." She began to cry. "...and she attacked me so I grabbed Pearl and ran to the Warp Pad and teleported away. When I got here, I damaged it enough to make sure that nothing could come thr-ARGH!" She shrieked as the window beside her smashed open, an axe flying straight past her head and stuck in the wall opposite her. Panicking, she ran as fast as she could down the stairs.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Steven yelled, running after her.

"HOMEWORLD GEMS ARE COMING!" She grabbed Steven by the arm and dragged him behind the nearest kitchen counter. Steven yelped in surprise as he found himself laying down on the floor beside her. "Don't move," she whispered. "-and don't say a word," He heard a loud bang as the door swung open.

"Are you sure we should take them?" Came a voice. It reminded Steven of Peridot's voice, though it was a little too high.

"Shush, Topaz!" A deeper voice boomed. Steven could hear their footsteps coming closer and closer.

" _Who are they?_ " He thought to himself, staying remarkably still. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Peridot beginning to sweat. She obviously recognised those voices.

"Whatever," Topaz muttered.

The footsteps were getting louder and louder. Then, they stopped. Steven opened his eyes to see the face of a yellow-orange gem looking down at both Peridot and him from the counter. As they stared at her, an evil smirk appeared across her face.

"Hello, friends,"

Then everything went black.

 _Authors note: Thanks for the support on this story, everyone! It means a lot. Chapter 3 is coming later tonight so get ready!_


	3. Chapter 3 - A New Ally?

Steven woke up with a start. His head ached and his legs were sore. The last thing he remembered was being trapped behind the counter with Peridot when an orange-yellow Homeworld Gem had found them. He looked around. He was alone in a prison cell, identical to the one in the Hand Ship. He stood up and walked closer to the forcefield. Nervous, he decided to see if he was able to slip through it like he had done before. Slowly, he pushed his index finger through it. Much to his relief, he was fine, except for the fact that it made him shake when he touched it. Thus, he walked straight through it. " _Now to find Peridot..._ " He thought to himself, walking down the empty hallway of cells. " _...Before someone else finds me,"_ He shuddered at the thought. What would happen to him if they found him outside his cell? What would happen to Peridot if he couldn't save her? " _I can do this..._ " He sighed. " _I can do this,_ " Slowly, he checked each cell he passed, hoping to see his only friend. He came to a corner when he heard a load bang.

"WHY?" A voice yelled from the other side of the corner. Steven froze. He recognised that voice from being the Gem who had knocked him out back at the temple. Slowly, he peered out at behind the corner. "I didn't want to be a part of this..." Steven looked at her from behind the corner, for this was the first time he'd actually had the time to look at this gem. She was fairly tall, around Pearl's size and she wore a long, yellow dress, similar to that of Lapis but hers was a little shorter. Her face was stained with tears. "I didn't ask for this..." He noticed her hands were tied together with a rope. Obviously, she was trapped here. The more Steven looked at her, the more he felt sorry for her.

"Who are you?" Steven quietly asked, walking out from behind his corner. The gem gasped before smiling.

"You must be Steven. I've always wanted to meet you," The gem whispered to him.

"How did you know my name?" Steven asked cautiously, taking a few steps backwards.

"Please don't leave. I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact, I've always wanted to be like you, Steven," She replied, looking into his confused eyes. "I've always wanted to be a crystal gem,"

"STEVEN?" Peridot opened her eyes and looked around. "Oh...my...stars..." She attempted to stand up but she was dragged down by the rope around her waist which made her unable to move. Motionless, she began to think. " _I need to escape..._ " She looked up. "...o _r this is gonna be the end..._ "

"So, there's going to be an attack from Homeworld?" Steven asked Topaz, rather surprised by what she had told him. He had untied her hands and let her free and they were now walking down the corridor, in search of Peridot.

"Yes..." She replied sadly, looking down at the floor. She took a deep breath and then continued."We need to get you and Peridot off of the ship. You're the last gems who can protect Earth now," Steven froze, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" He questioned, beginning to panic. She paused, and looked at him

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the Bubbling Room," Topaz replied, pointing to a room further down corridor. There were no windows, so Steven couldn't see what was happening. They ran there, both with a look of pure determination on their faces

"So, this is a room full of bubbled gems?" Steven asked Topaz, looking into her eyes as they stopped outside the door. She began to tear up.

"No...It's where...gems are taken...to be...shattered," She replied, summoning a large, orange sword in her hand. Trying to look brave, she wiped her eyes and clutched her sword tightly. Slowly, she pressed her head against the door. Steven summoned his shield.

"Is she in there?" He asked, shaking with nervousness.

"Yes,"


	4. Chapter 4 - Finding Her

_**Helloooo! It's me, Thundercatlost. I just wanna say before you start reading, THANK YOU! Thank you for all of your support on this story! It means so much!**_

 _ **Just to answer a few questions I've gotten: Don't worry, I have no intention of abandoning this story. Also, I am happy to take advice for what you guys wanna see happen.**_

 _ **Enjoy the story! 3**_

* * *

Steven stood with his eyes closed while Topaz continuously slammed into the door, attempting to break it down. His mind was crowed with dread and fear of what was behind the door. " _What if Peridot isn't there?_ " He thought to himself. " _What is she's been-_ " BANG! His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door breaking down.

"Steven, you find Peridot! I'm gonna go make sure no guards come here. I'll catch up with you!" Topaz yelled, running back down the corridor of which they had came. Steven nodded.

"PERIDOT?" He yelled, running in the door. What he saw made him panic. The room was filled with gem shards. He could barely see the floor with the amount that laid scattered across the room. It was dark and cold, making him shiver with both cold and fear.

"S-Steven..." Came a voice from somewhere in the room. He immediately recognised it as Peridot. Her voice was shaky and weak, as if something was draining her power.

"PERIDOT?" He yelled her name again.

"H-Help...me..." She said in reply, her voice even duller and weaker than before. Steven panicked as he ran towards where he thought her voice had come from. There he found... a metal door. He tried to open it but it was locked.

"I'M COMING!" Desperate to help, he grabbed a nearby chair and stood on it to try to fit through an open window at the top. He attempted it but found he couldn't even fit his head through, never mind his body. He was about to try again when he heard a drill-sounding noise coming the room she was in. Scared (but also slightly curious), he looked through the window and gasped.

Peridot was tied to the floor, a long rope around her waist. Her hair was a complete mess, her clothes were torn and she was covered in bruises and bumps. In fact, if you would have seen her, she looked more blue and purple than green. Though, the thing that shocked him the most was her face. Her visor was GONE. She kept her eyes firmly shut, as if to hide them from everyone. Attached to her gem was a small machine that appeared to be draining her power. She struggled, attempting to break free but only making the rope around her tighten and squeeze her physical form.

Steven panicked and smashed the chair into the door. It dented it slightly. Determined, he smashed it over and over until there was a hole large enough to fit through. He clambered through it as fast as he could. Once he was through, he ran towards her.

"S-Ste...ven..."Her face was getting paler and she was quickly running out of energy. If he didn't hurry, she would crack... or worse. Determined to save her, he summoned his shield. " _If I miss this shot..._ " He couldn't bare the thought. He closed his eyes as he positioned himself. Nervous, he stepped back and threw it.

There was a loud crash, making Steven jump. He opened his eyes and gave a sigh of relief - he had successfully knocked the machine over to the other side of the room and broken it.

"S-Ste...ven..." Peridot whispered his name, unable to move.

"Don't worry, Peridot!" He licked his hand then placed it on her gem. She shivered – Steven wasn't quite sure whether that was because of how cold the room was or how uncomfortable that was. Slowly, he watched as she glowed intensely. When the light dimmed, he could see her clothes were normal once again and and the bruises and bumps were gone. Though, her visor was still gone and she still kept her eyes shut.

"Thank you, Steven!" She hugged him, finally able to move and slip out of the ropes that had once tied her to the ground. Steven hugged her back – they were both finally safe.

At least, they thought they were.


	5. Chapter 5 - Pretty Colours

_**Hello again everybody! I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! Life is being a pain at the moment and its kinda hard to keep up.**_

 _ **On a happier note, I HAVE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! WOOO! I've writing another Steven Universe story and the first chapter is almost done so expect a new story very soon! I'll let you know when. Don't worry, it's not going to effect when this story is uploaded.**_

 _ **Also, I got a question asking about uploading times. I don't really have a set schedule but I do try to get them to come out around 1 or 2 weeks after the previous chapter.**_

 _ **I hope you guys enjoy! (Things are about to get crazy!)**_

* * *

"You... saved me," Peridot said slowly, her eyes still shut. Though, Steven couldn't tell whether she was actually ok as the way she said it made it seem like it was a problem.

"Yeah, you ok now?" Steven asked, glancing over to the machine then turning back to her.

"I'm fine. My jaw hurts a little though," She answered, rubbing her cheek with her hand.

"What did they do to you?" He questioned, cautiously checking her arms and legs for any sign of damage remaining. She seemed fine so he stopped and let go.

"I'm not entirely sure. Peridots aren't usually allowed in here," She replied, giving a quick sigh. There was a short period of silence before she spoke again."Have you seen my visor?"

"No. Why don't you just open your eyes?" Steven asked, looking at her. He'd never really asked Peridot about her visor before. He'd just assumed it was part of her body.

"Well... I've never...looked outside of them..." She replied, a look of sadness upon her face. "I've always...wondered...what Earth looks like...in colour..."

"Wait, you're telling me that you've NEVER seen anything outside of your visor?!" Steven was shocked. She'd spent so much time on Earth but she'd never seen the world the way everyone else had.

"Never..."

"Well, why don't you try it?"

"D-Do you really think I c-could?" She was nervous. What if she couldn't see without her visor and Steven would be upset?

"OF COURSE!" Steven yelled, taking her hands in his to reassure her. "Just open your eyes,"

"O-Ok..." She took a deep breath, as she readied herself.

Steven watched as she opened her eyes. He stared in amazement - one of her eyes was blue while the other was yellow. He'd always believed her eyes were green, like when she wore her visor. She stared back.

"So this is what colour is..." She muttered happily, looking into his eyes.

"Do you like it?" Steven was so happy.

"You look... beauti-" She blushed as she realised what she was saying and immediately stopped. Luckily, Steven didn't quite catch what she was saying and she gave a deep sigh of relief. "You look cool,"

"You look amazing!" Steven replied, making Peridot blush an even darker green.

"Wow, thanks. You-WOAH!" The ship turned sideways making the duo crash into the wall. She quickly grabbed Steven by his wrist and pulled him closer to her.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Steven panicked, his already messed-up hair becoming even more untidy.

"The ship is falling! We're going down!" She told him. "We have to find an escape pod, fast! Come with me – There should be one around the corner!"

Shouts and shrieks echoed throughout the ship, though nobody was in sight. Steven watched in fear as she disappeared into the darkness. " _I have to follow her,_ " He thought to himself. " _Who knows what could be over there?_ " He shot a final look at the machine before he turned away and ran after her into the shadows.

* * *

Topaz ran through the hallways towards the Bubbling Room.

"STEVEN? STEVEN?!" She yelled his name, fear etched into ever corner of her mind. She burst threw the doorway.

"STEVEN? ANYONE?" Still no reply. She clutched her fists tightly, her thoughts changing from fear to hatred. " _Those Crystal Gems... I knew I shouldn't have trusted them. I knew they were trouble the moment they shattered my friend in the rebellion,_ " She thought to herself. _"And now they'll pay,_ " She bent down and picked up one of a non-shattered purple gem from the floor. " _Don't think anyone can help you now, Crystal Gems,_ " She tightened her grip around it. "B _ecause now you've got me to deal with!_ " She stared at the gem in her hand. She screamed in anger as she dropped it on the floor and she summoned her weapon, her mind filled with a growing hatred. She gave one final look at this gem as she muttered something under her breath...

" _For_ _Peridot!_ "

...and she shattered it.


	6. Chapter 6 - CRASH!

_**I'm BAAACCCKKK! I'm so incredibly sorry this took so long. I should be back to the regular uploading schedule soon!**_

 ** _I can't thank you enough for the support you all have given me! Thank you so, so much! You're the best._**

 ** _Someone asked me about ratings. I don't plan on changing the rating of this story at all. I hope that answered your question!_**

 ** _I hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _(PS: Things are about to get crazy!)_**

* * *

"Just a little w-OAAHHH!" Peridot yelled as the ship flipped once more, leaving the duo falling down the hallway. By some unfortunate chance, Steven fell on top of her and both ended up in a pile at the front of the ship. They both attempted to stand up, only to fail and fall back down again.

"This is just what we needed...We're at the opposite end of the hallway to the escape pods and we're about to crash into the Earth..." Peridot muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"We'll be ok though, right?" Steven asked. Peridot remained silent as she slipped Steven's hand in hers. "...Right?" He stared at her. She still didn't reply but he could see in her nearly-crying eyes that the answer was no. They stayed silent for a few moments, hand in hand, their eyes filled with tears.

"We can't get to the escape pod..." Peridot told him, a hint of hopelessness in her voice. She sighed. "...We're not going to make it," Steven looked deeply into her worried eyes. He was scared too, no doubt about it, but he wasn't going to give up. "But...if we shatter...at least we'll be...together..."

"Peri, I'm not gonna let us shatter!" He yelled, trying to seem confident. Peridot seemed to believe him as she loosened her grip on his hand and let go.

With a bang, ship began to fall quicker. It was spinning out of control, only a few seconds away from hitting the Earth.

"THIS IS THE END!" She yelled.

In a sudden movement, Steven grabbed her shoulders and bubbled the duo, making her jump a little. The room was very small, thus the bubble was only barely big enough for them both to fit in, making them stuck in a rather awkward position. Peridot was sat with her arm behind her back and the other wrapped around Steven's neck. He was virtually sat on her lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her, as if he was trying to poof her. They were both very, very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, neither of them had a better idea so they stayed there, millimetres away from eachother's faces.

"Well, this is awkward," Peridot pointed out. Terrified, Steven stared into Peridot's yellow and blue eyes, while she stared back.

The ship twisted and turned, the walls collapsing in on eachother. They screamed and shouted as the bubble tumbled back down the hallway. Peridot looked at Steven and panicked as he lost control of both himself and the bubble. It burst with a loud noise. They covered their ears **_(I know Peri doesn't have ears. Just roll with it, ok?)_** in an attempt to block out the terrifyingly loud screeching of the ship and the screaming of the other Gems who were somewhere else within the rapidly-falling vessel.

The noise was deafeningly loud.

Amongst the booming ruckus, Steven realised Peridot was trying to say something but he couldn't work out what. Due to the noise, he could only make out a few of her words.

"STEVEN I ... YOU AND ... DON'T TRUST-"

CRASH!

* * *

"Is he going to be ok?"

"What happened?"

"I gotta get this for my blog!"

"I think he's waking up!"

Steven awoke to the sound of people's voices. His head ached from the past events. He questioned whether he should get up or not as his head hurt so badly.

"Lars, hurry up and get an ice-pack!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

" _Sadie? Lars? Where am I?_ " He thought to himself. As he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed in Sadie's room, surrounded by people. The people of Beach City, to be exact.

Greg, Sadie and Lars sat at his side and everyone else stood behind them. Among them, he could see Mr Smiley, Onion, Jenny, Kofi, Kiki, Gunga, Mr Fryman, Ronaldo (Who was reading something on his phone), Peedee, Vidalia, Mayor Dewey and Sour Cream – those were only a few of the people there!

"HE'S AWAKE!" Greg yelled, causing the room to erupt with applause and cheers of joy.

"W-What's g-going on?" Steven asked questioningly. Confused (and slightly nervous), he made the decision to sit up straight. Everyone watched as he slowly sat upright, their eyes glued onto him, before Lars spoke up.

"About four days ago, Sadie and I saw some weird-looking crashing spaceship heading towards Beach City so we called everyone we knew,"

"The Gems didn't reply so we all decided to head to my house. We thought it would be safer since my room is underground," Sadie added, putting her hand on Lars' shoulder. "It was Lars' idea,"

Lars blushed before taking her hand off of his shoulder.

"Then what happened?" Steven asked them, wondering how he got from the ship to Sadie's house.

"Well, there was a loud crash and I, being the most caring – and important – person here, called out everyone's names," Mayor Dewey replied, putting his hands on his hips. Everyone in the room rolled their eyes.

"Should we throw him out?" Ronaldo quietly suggested, finally turning his phone off.

"Just carry on with the story," Steven added, slightly concerned.

"It was crazy up there! All we could see for miles was the wreckage everywhere!" Peedee continued.

"We found an escape pod by the Big Donut. That's where we found you," Greg finished. Steven sat there confused for a moment. _"An escape pod? I don't remember getting into an escape pod..."_ He thought to himself. _"Wait a minute!"_

"W-Where is she?!" Steven asked in a rather panicky voice.

"Where's who?" Sadie replied, beginning to question himself.

"Where's Peridot?!" Steven was very worried. He looked around before Greg grabbed something out of his pocket.

"She's right here, schtoo-ball," He said, handing him the object from his hands.

Steven took it and looked at what it was – a triangular lime-green gemstone. _"Please say she's ok..."_ Nervously, he turned it over – he had no idea what he'd do without her. Much to his relief, she wasn't cracked and seemed perfectly fine.

"Thanks everyone," Steven smiled, cradling the gemstone in his hands. "Thank you so much,"

Everyone in the room blushed a little, including Steven himself.

He was safe. Peridot was safe. At least, for now.


	7. Chapter 7 - Little Reunions

**_Hey guys! I'm back again with another new chapter! I hope you're ready!_**

 ** _You'll be glad to know that the story will go back to be being once every 1-2 weeks! YAY! Progress on my other story I'm preparing is going well too. Expect that VERY soon!_**

 ** _Thanks again for the lovely comments everyone! Even if I don't end up replying, I read EVERY comment I get! You're the best! (Insert heart emoji here!)_**

 ** _ROOM FOR RUBY SPOILERS: Oh. My. Stars. I can't BELIEVE what happened! I knew Navy was trouble! Now there's gonna be no more space adventures for a while! Aww... I did hope she'd become a Crystal Gem. Oh well. What did you think? Let me know in the reviews!_**

 ** _Enough talking, lets get straight into the new chapter!_**

* * *

After a few moments, the glow faded away as Peridot landed gently gently upon the carpet. She hadn't changed her appearance too much, though she now wore her visor again.

"H-Huh? W-Where am I?" She stuttered, looking around at the crowd of people within the room.

"PERIDOT!" Steven yelled in excitement, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Stars were in his eyes. She blushed and smiled as he loosened his grip.

"Did you miss me?" Peridot asked in a half-joking way. She adjusted her visor a little so that it sat evenly upon her face. Steven smiled with joy.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" He yelled in reply.

"I would have added a star but I didn't wanna leave you waiting," She winked at him.

"How did we survive?!" He said as she looked around.

"Personally, I have no idea," She replied, looking back at him. "The last thing I remember was your bubble bursting, screaming and someone throwing me into a wall,"

"WHAT?!" Steven yelled in surprise. He remembered the first two things but he certainly didn't remember someone that. "ARE YOU OK?!"

"Yeah. It's fine," She rubbed her neck but quickly pulled her hand away to hide the throbbing pain.

"Peridot, d'ya want a bandage?" Sadie asked her, noticing her quick gesture.

"Have we met?" Peridot asked. Steven jumped, suddenly realising that he'd never actually introduced her to everyone.

"Oh! Peridot, this is Sadie, Lars, Dad, Mr Smiley, Onion, Jenny, Kiki..."

* * *

The escape pod opened with a click. Exhausted, the Gem inside crawled out of the smashed space-vehicle, her hands shaking from the fall. She stared at her surroundings.

"That voice," She muttered, hearing talking coming from Sadie's house. She summoned a large, orange sword in her hand. "I'm coming," Carefully, she hid it behind her back as she advanced towards the house.

* * *

"Nice to meet you all!" Peridot replied, a smile upon her face. Steven was content that Peridot had finally met all of his friends. Both he and Peridot had been through a lot the past few days. Just the infectious smile upon her face was enough to make him happy. He watched as she sat on the floor before joining her. She was clearly happy too, her face also filled with joy.

What he didn't know was that it was a different story. The smile upon her face was false. Her Gem ached, her mind filled with worry and pain. Though, it wasn't the throbbing pain in her neck. This was something else. Back on the ship, she'd thought that everything was over. She'd said something in those final moments that she now regretted saying. Questions burned in her mind. Was Steven upset? Did he still trust her? No matter how hard she tried, the words she had said seemed to linger in her mind.

She turned to face Steven. He put a hand upon her shoulder, a grin stretched out across his face. She gave an internal sigh of relief, comforted by his company. " _I guess he didn't hear,_ " She thought to herself. " _Thank the stars,_ " She lost herself in her thoughts, finally somewhat happy.

"Uhh... guys?" Steven spoke, his face quickly turning from a happy expression to a scared one.

"What's up schtoo-ball?" Greg asked him, starting to worry about his son.

"Do you guys hear that?" Steven asked. The room fell silent. Everyone listened to a strange noise upstairs Peridot broke out of her thoughts, suddenly realising that everyone had gone silent.

"What's going o-" She started to speak before Steven covered her mouth with his hand and made a quiet shush noise. They listened for a moment.

A wave of fear struck Steven, hearing the noise once again – footsteps. Something – or someone – was upstairs. He jumped as he felt Peridot put her hand on his shoulder from behind him. He relaxed, feeling her other hand grab his wrist, realising that it was only her. Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting closer and closer by the second. They were pretty quiet but whatever was making them was clearly right above them. He began to shake in fear, the footsteps becoming quicker, advancing towards the stairs. Upon hearing the first stair creak, Steven instinctively summoned his shield.

"Stay behind me," Steven whispered to Peridot. She nodded obediently, tightening her grip on his hand. Steven knew she was scared. Sadie stepped next to Steven, a spear in her hand.

"Whoa! Where did you get that!" Steven whispered to her.

"I kept it after our big island adventure," Sadie quietly explained. Steven looked at her with stars in his eyes. However, their mood suddenly shifted back to being alert. Steven gripped his shield tighter while Sadie kept her eyes glued to the top of the stairs.

A pair of orange-yellow feet stepped down the stairs, the bottom half of a yellow dress soon becoming visible. Steven lowered his shield a little. He recognised that dress. Soon, the top half of the dress became visible, a yellow diamond insignia upon it's chest. Immediately realising who it

was, Steven evaporated his shield, making Peridot even more nervous.

At last, the Gem's face was visible. Steven gasped with joy and Peridot gasped with horror. The Gem, who was now fully visible, looked up.

"Topaz! You're ok!" Steven ran up to her, stars once again filling his pupils. She jumped at the sight of him. "Oops, sorry if I startled you," She smiled at him before glancing around the room. She gasped.

"You," Her eyes were fixed on Peridot. Her arms fell to her sides from behind her back and Steven could've sworn he saw a sword fall from behind her back for a few moments. He shrugged it off though, as he turned back to look at Peridot, who looked very nervous. "5XA! IT'S YOU!"

"5XG," Peridot replied. Steven could tell she was trying to be brave. A frown appeared upon Topaz's face and Peridot went a little bit pale. Steven rushed over to her.

"But..." Topaz replied, taking a few steps towards Peridot while she moved backwards. "You're just like her..."

Steven grabbed Peridot's wrist and smiled at her.

"It's ok, Peri," He told her, attempting to comfort the incredibly scared Gem. "Topaz helped me save you back on the ship. She's a good Gem,"

"I don't wanna hurt you, 5XA," The tall Gem spoke softly. Peridot backed up to the wall, fear written all over her face. Steven sat in front of her and tried to look into her eyes, though she tried to avoid them.

"It's ok Peridot, she's a good Gem," He repeated to her. "She's just a little confused,"

Peridot turned to look at him, then back at Topaz. She gave a sigh before standing up.

"I'm 5XG, not 5XA," Peridot told her, a little more confidence in her voice.

"I-I... Sorry," Topaz trailed off. Steven gave a sigh of relief. "Are we friends?" She asked Peridot, offering her her hand. Peridot looked a bit uneasy.

"C'mon Dot! Do it for me," Steven pleaded, looking directly at the pupils in her eyes. She gave a deep breath. Slowly, she held out her hand towards Topaz. Steven watched in amazement as the two shook hands.

"Could someone tell us what's going on?" Lars broke the moment.

"Oh, uhh... Well, Topaz helped me save Peridot. She's my friend now," Steven attempted to explain.

"Any friend of Steven is a friend of mine," Greg smiled, giving Steven a hug.

"Same!" All of the Beach City residents yelled at the same time, all rushing over to give him a hug too. Steven was overjoyed. Everyone was safe. He knew Peridot and Topaz would get along now, despite not being a part of the big hug.

Things were finally getting better. Well, that's what he thought.

Nobody noticed the sinister smile upon Topaz's face.

Nobody but Peridot.


	8. Chapter 8 - Sweet Dreams

_**I'M BACK AND I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE! It's been SO long since I last uploaded - I'm sorry! Life decided to be a pain again. *Sigh***_ _ **Good news is that I'm now back to my regular uploading pattern of a new chapter every 1-2 weeks. Also, the first chapter to my second story will be coming VERY soon so keep a look out for that!**_

 _ **Again, thanks for the positive feedback. I read every review I get, even if I don't reply. You all say the nicest things to me - I don't know how to thank you! If you have any ideas, message me or leave it at the end of your review!**_

 _ **Also this is the longest chapter so far! YAY!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Hey, uh, guys. I know this is a happy reunion but... uhh... I'm getting kinda tired..." Steven told the others, stifling a yawn.

"I'm with you on that one, kiddo," Greg replied. Everyone in the room (aside from Peridot and Topaz, who didn't need sleep) nodded. This past week had been chaotic and pretty much nobody had actually managed to sleep.

"Where are we gonna sleep?" Steven asked Sadie.

"Anywhere I guess," She replied, giving a yawn herself. "Steven takes the bed though. He needs it more than the rest of us,"

"Thanks for letting us stay, Sadie," Lars muttered, laying down on the floor alongside the others who were all getting ready to sleep. Sadie gave him a small smile but Lars turned over and pretended he hadn't noticed.

As everyone in the room fell asleep, Peridot and Topaz remained stood up.

"Hey Peridot. It's nice to meet you," Topaz spoke softly, in what seemed like a flirty tone. Peridot just stared blankly at her. Peridot was terrified, no idea of what to do. Then a thought struck her.

She could fight Topaz. After all, it would be for everyone's safety... but what would Steven think? He'd probably kick her out and would never talk to her again. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Then again, it was the only way she could protect him.

She pondered for a bit, her mind racing once again.

"Peridot?"

She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Topaz's voice. She turned to face the orange-yellow Gem.

"W-What i-is it?" Peridot asked, her voice trembling with fear. She knew she couldn't fight Topaz, even if she wanted to. Topaz was a strong Gem with powers far beyond anything she was capable of. One hit from her sword could finish her in split seconds.

"You looked upset, that's all. I just wanted to make sure you were ok," She responded. "Anything for you, 5XA,"

"For the last time, I'm 5XG, not 5XA!" Peridot whispered to her loudly, attempting to not wake Steven and his friends. In return, Topaz just gave a small smile. "What is wrong with you? Who even is 5XA?"

"You look just like her...5XA was an old friend of mine..." Topaz told her, clenching her fists. "She was the greatest friend I'd ever had..." She turned to Peridot, a some-what evil grin spread across her face. "I'm sure you'll be the same,"

Peridot gulped. _"Wake up, Steven..."_

" _...I need you."_

* * *

 _Steven opened his eyes. He was in darkness. Never-ending darkness. From far off, he heard crying. Running as fast he could, he sprinted towards where he heard it coming from. There, sat facing away from him, was a Gem._

" _I'm back, Pearl!...Taafeite!..." He corrected himself, remembering the name she'd told him last time he'd seen her. She turned to face him, a happy smile upon her face as she wiped away her tears._

" _STEVEN!" She yelled, giving him a big hug. She was the same as before – still a velvet Gem wearing a blue dress with a star on the left shoulder. Steven smiled back, his heart filled with joy._

" _I missed you so much!" He told her, gripping onto her tighter._

" _I missed you too!" She replied. The two continued hugging for about a minute, both thrilled to be in each other's arms. In reality, it had only been about 3 days since they'd last seen each other but it felt like an eternity._

" _What happened when I left?" Steven asked, looking into her eyes, that were much happier than the last time._

" _Not much," She answered. "How about you?"_

" _N-Nothing. Nothing of interest," He lied, twiddling his thumbs behind his back. Luckily, Pearl didn't pick up on the fact he was lying._

" _Ok. Well... How are Garnet, Amethyst, Lapis and Peridot doing?" She questioned. Steven froze as he began to generate lies in his mind. He couldn't let Pearl know what was happening._

" _Amethyst found one of your swords. Lapis and Peridot have temporarily moved in with us..."_

" _What about Garnet?"_

" _She... uhh...Garnet went on a date with herself!" He faked, running out of lies to tell._

" _Oh. At least everyone's ok..." Taaffeite added, a little worried. "...Are you sure that's what's happened?"_

" _Yep!" Steven told her, attempting to keep faking what had happened. He knew that if he told her that everyone but Peridot and himself were corrupted and Homeworld had attempted to kidnap everyone, she would freak out and probably cry while he was gone. Thus, he continued to lie._

" _You look nervous. What happened?" She asked him, getting a little bit more suspicious._

" _N-Nothing! I... uhh...won a game of cards and I...uhh...can't stop...uhh...can't stop t-thinking about it!" He stuttered. Suddenly, he felt what seemed like a string pull him away from her. "I must be waking up!"_

" _We'll talk soon," She added as he disappeared._

"... _And maybe then you'll tell me the truth..."_

* * *

Steven woke calmly and looked around. Everyone was still asleep, aside from Peridot and Topaz, who were stood at the back of the room next to each other. He noticed Peridot sweating heavily and Topaz just smiling at her, which seemed a little off to him. Though, he decided just to shrug it off. He stood up which caused Topaz and Peridot (Who both hadn't realised he had woken up) to jump a little. Peridot forced a smile and Topaz quickly turned to face him.

"G-Good morning, Steven," Peridot stuttered.

"Yes, good morning!" Topaz added, a much happier tone in her voice than in Peridot's. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes... Well, there's something I need to tell you," Steven told them. Peridot gave him a worried look while Topaz just continued to smile. "I've been contacting Pearl in my dreams! I don't know what Peridot did but she's alive and I can talk to her!"

Peridot's jaw dropped. "But...I..." She trailed off.

"But what?" Steven became a little concerned at the panic in her voice.

"I didn't...I couldn't...She isn't..." She muttered.

"She isn't what?" Steven got even more concerned.

"I don't know what you've done but... I couldn't save her, Steven. I failed. I tried to help her by turning her into another Gem but... it was too late..."

Steven was dumbfounded. If Peridot hadn't saved her, how was he talking to Pearl? Was he going crazy?

"Then how am I...?" Steven began, but was quickly cut off by Peridot.

"I'm not sure. Pearl isn't alive so I don't understand. Do you have any other dream powers?"

"I managed to contact I managed to jump into Lars' body once and I spoke Lapis in my dreams while she was still Malachite," He explained.

"Then what I did must have made you able talk to shattered Gems in your dreams too!" She exclaimed, a wide smile upon her face. Avoiding the still sleeping people, Steven ran over to her.

"YES! THANK YOU PERIDOT!" He whispered extremely loudly, throwing his arms around her which made her give a slight giggle.

She turned and looked to her right, where she saw Topaz stood, a menacing scowl upon her face. Fear controlling her mind, Peridot lightly pushed Steven off of her and looked nervously down at her feet.

"Are you two ok?" Steven asked them, disturbed by Peridot's strange actions that she'd done. This made Peridot look up at him and Steven could almost feel the fright radiating off of her.

"Y-Yes. We're fine, Steven. Y-You just...carry on... We're listening," She spoke quickly, her pupils looking up at Topaz. Of course, Steven didn't believe her.

"What's really up?"

"We were.. uhh..." Peridot tried to lie.

"We were thinking about us three going up to the surface to find equipment. After all, it is up to us stop Homeworld's invasion, right?" Topaz cut in, giving Peridot an annoyed look that Steven didn't notice. What she'd said convinced him and he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen out of his pocket.

"Right. We should probably leave a note to others saying we're gonna be gone," He clicked his pen on. "Where should we start?"

Topaz stretched out her hand. "I'll write it. Just pass me the pen,"

"Uhh...sure?" Steven handed her the pen. Peridot and Steven watched as she scribbled something down on the note, which she kept hidden with her hands. She then handed it to Peridot.

"Well, Peridot? Do you think that's good enough?" Topaz smiled, a cruel look upon her face that even the toughest of Gems would fear.

Trying to hide her emotions from Steven, who had no idea of what was going on, she took the note and read it. Her hands began to shake as she read it, her pupils shrunk. She handed it back to her. "I-It's...I-It's...g-good..."

"Can I read it?" Steven asked excitedly, oblivious to Peridot's emotions. He'd just assumed that Peridot's behaviour was because of the fact Homeworld was coming – he was very wrong.

"Sorry Steven, we don't have the time. We've got to hurry if we want to find shelter before nightfall," Topaz explained, grabbing the note in her hands and folding it up so that nobody could see it.

"Alright, let's go!" Steven exclaimed, quietly enough to not wake the others. He tiptoed over them, Peridot behind him. They turned to the back of the room where Topaz was still stood. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, yes. You two go first. I'll leave the letter on the door as we go," She replied, the letter still firmly in her grip.

"Ok!" Steven added, turning away and walking up the stairs with Peridot.

The duo unlocked the door and stepped outside. It was terrible. Smashed pieces of glass lay all over the street, each piece sharper than the last. Corrupted Gems roamed the areas further out, their snarling teeth echoing throughout the whole city. The sky was a light grey, the clouds black with smoke.

This was going to be one terrifying adventure.

The two turned back to the doorway, where Topaz was now stood, the door locked behind her. She smiled a small smile as Peridot looked at her. Steven smiled at them both.

"We can do this!..." He yelled, trying to appear brave before his friends.

" _...I hope..."_

* * *

Sadie woke up, relaxed from her sleep. She stood up and looked around, a worried frown upon her face.

" _Where's Steven?"_

She looked down at the bottom of the stairs.

The only signs that Steven and his friends had ever been there...

...Were the tiny bits of ripped-up paper scattered along the floor.


	9. Chapter 9 - Broken Hearts

_**Hello! This intro is going to be pretty short because I don't have much to say.**_

 _ **This is now the longest chapter I've written so far! Over 2000 words! *Cheers***_

 _ **Like I always say, thank you for all of the kind reviews you leave. I always love to read what you think - it makes my day.**_

 _ **Finally, prepare for feels. That's all I'm going to say.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Who's going out first?" Steven asked, looking into the eyes of the two Gems beside him.

"You go. You're the leader of our group, right?" Topaz replied. Peridot remained silent, which worried Steven a little. He decided he'd talk to her later.

Giving a sigh, he summoned his shield. Shortly after, Topaz summoned her sword from the Gem on her head, making Peridot jump with fright a little. She hid it rather well though. For a moment, she questioned when she'd tell Steven about Topaz. Though her thoughts shifted back when she noticed that she was staring at her. Steven was looking away, focused on the area of which they were soon going to enter.

"Well? I'm waiting," Topaz muttered to her, getting impatient. Again, Peridot began to panic, shaking as she realised that what she was about to say would only make things worse.

"I-I...I don't...don't...have a w-weapon..." She stuttered, the words tumbling out of her mouth. At this, Topaz gave a huge, some-what demonic smile and gripped her sword tighter. Slowly, she summoned yet another weapon out of her Gem. This weapon was completely different from her normal sword - this an orange baseball bat with yellow stripes running along the edge.

"H-How..." Peridot tried to ask as Topaz handed her the baseball bat. This made Topaz smile even more, which only made Peridot more scared of her – Topaz wasn't a Gem she wanted to mess with.

"It's a Topaz thing. Thank me later," She turned around to walk to Steven. As she began to, she quickly turned back to Peridot. "...And don't try anything. You don't even know a little of what I'm capable of," She smiled then turned away once again and continued to walk to Steven.

Peridot just stood there, overwhelmed with fear, knowing she was hopeless against her.

Steven turned around to see Topaz stood next to him, while Peridot was still stood by the door, clearly in deep thought.

"Topaz?" Steven asked her, worry in his voice.

"Yes, Steven?"

"I've been wondering... Do you know what's up with Peridot? Sometimes, she just zones out and I don't know why. It's like... it's like there's something else bothering her..." He asked. He'd spent the last five minutes just looking around the area to prepare for their escape so he had completely missed their conversation.

"Maybe she can't stop thinking about the other Crystal Gems. I wouldn't be surprised, since they're... you know..." Topaz explained. "And... she's been saying things about you that makes me question her loyalty,"

"Like what?" He questioned, intrigued but also very worried as to what Peridot had been supposedly been saying behind his back.

"We'll talk about it later. For now, let's just get out of here before the corrupted monsters beat us to it," She added, hearing Peridot running to up to them.

"Yeah but..." Steven was about to continue when he too noticed Peridot running up to them. "Peri?"

"Yeah? Did I miss something? Are you ok?" Peridot asked, looking quite distressed. Steven got a little bit annoyed.

"No. Just run with us. We're going to need to be as quick as possible if we're going to get out of here unnoticed," He replied. Peridot slowly nodded, backing away ever so slightly from Topaz, who, like always, had a sinister smile upon her face that Peridot feared.

Steven took a deep breath. "On the count of three, we run into the Temple and use the Warp Pad to get to Mask Island. We should be safe there for a few days," He explained, taking Peridot by the hand. A feeling of relief passed through her body as she felt his warm hand hold hers. It was a feeling she couldn't describe. It made her mind fill with happy thoughts and a relaxing tingling sensation when they were close.

Her thoughts were broken when she felt Topaz tap her on the back. Immediately realising why, Peridot snatched her hand back away from Steven. Steven just stared at her in disbelief. _"What has gotten into her?"_ He shook it off though – he'd talk to Topaz about it later. "You ready?"

"Yep! Let's do this," Topaz replied. Peridot remained silent but nodded slowly.

"3...2...1...GO!"

* * *

The three Gems sprinted towards the temple, as fast as they could. Nobody stopped to check if the monsters were coming – they didn't care. All that mattered was that they all got somewhere safe before night time. Steven's legs ached since he hadn't run that far in ages. Yet, he was pushed onwards by the thoughts of his friends and family. Maybe, he'd be able to find Lapis, Garnet and Amethyst before they were too corrupted. Maybe, he'd be able to fix Taaffeite. Maybe, he'd be able to save the people of Beach City and the people of the world. Determined, he ran, Topaz at his side, Peridot a little behind them both. With a bang, Topaz battered down the door of the Beach House with her sword. Peridot joined in, bashing her orange-yellow baseball bat into the door. Within a minute, the door was down and they ran on to the Warp. When Steven turned around to activate it, his heart sank.

There, stood before him, was a blue Corrupted Gem. It looked similar to that of a dragon but way more terrifying. Watery spit dripped from it's mouth. There were no eyes to this monstrosity; Steven was surprised that it could find them. The thing that disturbed him the most... was the fact it wasn't moving. It wasn't chasing them. It just simply stood there.

That's when it hit him who it was. He turned to look at Peridot, who had tears swelling up in her eyes.

"L-Lapis?" Peridot muttered to it, taking a step off of the Warp Pad. "A-Are you still in there?" The small, green Gem continued to walk towards her corrupted friend, tears streaming down her face. The corruption growled in anger, not recognising her.

"Peridot! It isn't safe!" Topaz yelled, watching as Peridot continued to edge towards her.

"Peri..." Steven began, tears beginning to form in his own eyes as Peridot turned to face him. "...We don't have the time. We need to get to Mask island before Homeworld cause any more damage..."He looked back at the Corruption that stood before them. "We'll come back for her. We'll come back for Amethyst and Garnet too... For now, we need to go..."

Peridot gave a sigh, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She put a hand on Corrupted Lapis' shoulder. Surprisingly, this calmed the Corrupted Gem. "You hear that, Lapis? Steven and I will come back for you, no matter what – that's a promise," Peridot wasn't just reassuring Lapis, she was reassuring herself too.

"I hate to break the moment but it's getting pretty dark. We should go," Topaz butted in, impatient. Steven knew Topaz was right. Topaz seemed to always be right.

"I'm coming!" Peridot told her quietly, as if she were Topaz's servant.

Peridot stood on the Warp Pad once again. As the light of the warp pad started up, she gave her corrupted friend a little wave before the warp sent the trio to their destination.

* * *

Mask Island wasn't much different from the last time they were there. A small part of the island was missing and the Warp Pad had been repaired with duct-tape after the Cluster incident but other than that, it seemed the same. Though, the place was eerily silent.

"Homeworld must have taken the Watermelon Stevens," Steven told them, walking into the abandoned village alongside his friends.

"Watermelon Stevens?" Topaz repeated what he had said, confused. "What is a Watermelon Steven? Is it evil?"

"It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that they used to live in this village and they're not evil," He comforted her. "We should stay in one of these houses for the night. It'll give us shelter,"

As they stepped inside one of the smaller houses, he put away his shield and Topaz put away hers. Trying not to cause too much fuss, Peridot handed Topaz back her baseball bat. Topaz grinned. Now that Peridot had told Topaz that she didn't have a weapon, Topaz knew she was vulnerable. That meant her plan might go even better than she hoped.

"Topaz?" Steven called her name, wanting to talk.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," She realised what Steven was saying, locking the door behind Peridot, leaving all three inside. "Oh...uh...Peridot..."

"W-What?" Peridot got a little nervous at the mention of her name.

"Peridot, is it ok is Topaz and I go upstairs to talk? It's sort of a private conversation..." He attempted to explain, trying not to upset her.

Peridot was terrified. Not for herself – but for Steven. She knew what Topaz planned for herself...but Steven... She had no idea what Topaz was planning to say to him.

Motionless, she stood there for about thirty seconds, thinking of everything that could happen. Eventually, she gave a deep sigh. "Alright,"

"Steven, let's go," Topaz told him, grabbing him by the wrist and running with him up the stairs.

When they were gone, Peridot glanced at a picture that hung in the hallway. In it was a small green human.

" _Wait, a green human?"_

Peridot checked the photo once again.

This wasn't a human...

...It was a Gem.

Two Gems.

The two Gems were stood in a forest. The green one looked exactly like Peridot but the Gem on her forehead was circular.

" _Is that...5XA?"_

She pondered for a bit. Unsure of whether she was correct, she looked at the other Gem in the picture.

This Gem wore a long, yellow dress, that was only a bit a smaller than Lapis'.

" _TOPAZ!"_ Peridot screamed her name in her head. It confirmed her theory though – the Peridot had to be 5XA.

The two Gems looked so happy together. Topaz had a happy smile. It wasn't demonic or creepy – it was just a happy smile. The two were almost hugging.

" _They must have been close..._

 _...What happened?"_

* * *

"So... What HAS Peridot been saying? I'm really beginning to worry..." Steven moaned.

"She...She said..." Topaz began, a single tear leaking out of her left eye.

"She said what?" Steven asked her again, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "If Peridot is making you upset, you need to tell me so that I can help you both,"

"She told me...that she didn't care...about you..." She muttered under her breath.

"No! Peridot... Peridot would never say that!" Steven yelled, quietly enough to not let Peridot hear downstairs. "Tell me the truth!"

"I am..." Topaz added, beginning to cry again.

"She's never say something like that! Peridot cares about me! She cares about all of us. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it..." Steven paused briefly as he remembered the couple of times when she'd pushed him away. "...but she cares. If she didn't, why would she still be here?"

"S-She...She wants to leave..." Topaz continued... burying her head in her hands.

"Then prove it," Steven requested sternly. He didn't believe her. He didn't _want_ to believe her.

Topaz looked up at the wall beside them. From her Gem came a projection of Peridot and her talking. His heart sank as it began to play.

* * *

" _I-I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM!" Peridot yelled._

" _Calm down. I'm sure he's just-"_

" _NO! He's always like this. I've known him for over a YEAR, Topaz! I'm sick of him! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"_

" _Listen, he's-"_

" _I...I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"_

" _Listen Peridot! I think you-"_

" _I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, TOPAZ! I'm going to betray him and there's NOTHING you can do to stop me!"_

* * *

As Topaz's projection disappeared, Steven felt himself crying. Tears were trickling down his cheeks.

Topaz _had_ been right. Peridot really _did_ hate him.

"She...I...We...but...I...?" He struggled to find words. His heart hurt and his mind was crowded with emotions. He didn't understand what was going on. He couldn't accept the truth.

Topaz stood up and put a hand on his cheek.

"Don't worry, Steven. We'll go through it... together," Topaz reassured him, drying his eyes with a tissue from his pocket. "Would you like me to lock her out?"

"No... I want to talk to her...Bring her upstairs..." Steven looked down at his feet, unable to comprehend what he'd just heard.

"If you insist..." She replied, holding Steven by the wrist. "Don't let her fool you though..." She whispered to him, before she disappeared down the stairs.

Steven turned to face the wall where the projection had been.

" _I can't believe it... Peridot has hated me this whole time..._

 _...She'll pay for this!"_


	10. Chapter 10 - Flowing Tears

_**Hello again! I bet you didn't expect this chapter to be out so quick :D**_

 _ **Forgive me for any spelling errors - I'm writing this at 1am.**_

 _ **Since I said pretty much everything last chapter, I'm not going to say anymore.**_

 _ **Feels warning again, though. Get ready!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Peridot stared at the picture.

" _What could possibly have happened to 5XA? Why is Topaz so upset? And why does-"_

"PERIDOT!" Topaz called her name from the top of the stairs. Peridot shook in fright as she came back into reality.

"W-What is i-it?" She replied, looking up at her in fear. Topaz always scared her. As she came down the stairs, she kept her focus on Peridot, who was now shaking trembling once again.

"Steven wants to talk to you," She told her. "It's important,"

"A-Alright..." Peridot replied, giving one last glance at the picture.

"Good luck!" Topaz yelled at her.

And a cruel smile spread slowly upon her face.

" _You'll need it..."_

* * *

When Peridot opened the door, she was surprised to see that Steven had tear stains on his cheeks and his clothes were wet. He was shaking, as if fighting back more tears.

"Steven?" She asked, walking up to him. "What's up?"

"Peridot... Why do you hate me?"

"WHAT?!" Peridot jumped with surprise. "I don't hate you! Where'd you get that nonsense?!"

"Topaz... She told me..." He explained to her, looking her directly in the eyes. "...Tell me the truth..." Peridot stared at him with a blank expression before she spoke.

"Listen, Topaz isn't what she seems. She's-"

"OH, SO NOW IT'S TOPAZ'S FAULT, RIGHT?" Steven shouted at her.

"Trust me, I don't hate y-"

"TRUST YOU? I DON'T THINK SO AFTER WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT ME!" He continued to shout at her. "AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU, YOU'RE JUST LEAVE ME HERE TO CRY?!"

"Wha-?"

"TELL ME! TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL!" He was yelling extremely loudly, tears flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall. Peridot was crying too but she was too confused to fully process what was happening.

"I..." She paused, her whole body shaking with fear.

"TELL ME!" Steven yelled again, getting very impatient. He wasn't able to control his feelings any more.

"I..." She put her arms around Steven's waist.

"I love you, Steven!"

She pulled him closer to her so that their noses were touching.

Peridot felt sparks flying in her head. This was the moment. This was what she had dreamed of. She was ready...

...But Steven pushed her away.

He pushed her so hard that she crashed into the wall by the door.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He yelled at the top of his voice. Peridot looked up. She was relatively unharmed, apart from a few small scratches on her clothes, but she was exhausted. "YOU LIE TO ME, TEAR ME APART AND THEN TELL ME YOU LOVE ME?!"

"Steven, I-"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled. Peridot froze. She was terrified. "JUST SHUT UP!"

"But-"

"I DON'T CARE! I AM SICK OF THIS! I'M SICK OF YOU!"

Peridot was lost for words. She'd revealed her biggest secret and Steven didn't care. She was fear-stricken. Steven meant everything to her... and he was yelling at her for something she never said.

"IF KNOW KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU, JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" Steven was broken. He knew he shouldn't just shout but his emotions overpowered reason. He didn't care about anything any more.

"I'M DONE WITH YOU! I DON'T NEED YOU AND YOUR PROBLEMS TO TEAR ME APART!" He was now yelling at the top of his voice. Peridot was backed up to the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was beyond terrified.

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID! IF YOU THINK I'LL EVER LOVE YOU, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!" With that final note, he summoned his shield and held it like a frisbee. Peridot's eyes widened. Steven was going to kill her if she didn't do something. She reached for the door handle and ran down the stairs. Steven only watched as she went. His mind raced with his anger...

...but that anger soon turned to sadness as he realised what he'd done. Peridot was gone. She was probably never coming back. He'd hurt her – physically and mentally – and he hadn't cared. He could have murdered her, had she not ran out of the room. She was gone and she wasn't going to come back. He fell to his knees.

" _What have I done?"_

* * *

She didn't check to see whether Steven or Topaz were coming after her – she just ran. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know what she was doing. She was just running. Tears flurried past her as she carried on, her legs feeling like they were going to break. Everything she cared about was gone. Steven, the Gems, her home, her safety... gone. Her side ached from where Steven had thrown her into the wall.

She felt trapped. Homeworld were already there, probably trying to find her and shatter her at that very moment.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran straight into a tree. _"Look where your going, you dumb clod!"_ She thought to herself, shaking herself off. She looked around.

She was lost in the forest. There were plants and vines everywhere and the whole area was unfamiliar to her. Unable to concentrate after what had happened, she decided to sit down at the bottom of one of the trees.

She had nothing. No weapon, no armour, no fighting skills, no survival skills – nothing. She felt useless. She closed her eyes and soon found herself drifting into the realm of sleep.

* * *

 _Peridot found herself in a white room. There was nothing; it was blank. Suddenly, she heard laughter. Bewildered, she spun around to see Steven, Lapis and the Crystal Gems all laughing and joking with eachother._

 _Peridot ran to them, full of joy to see her family again._

 _Then something strange happened. They all looked at her with glowing red eyes and summoned their weapons._

" _Guys? What's going o-AHH!"_

 _She as Steven threw his shield at her. Luckily, it missed her, but by only a few centimetres. Steven turned to face her only to fade away right before her eyes._

" _I don't underst-eep!"_

 _She jumped as Pearl launched herself at her but Peridot dodged. With that, Pearl disappeared into nothingness._

" _Someone please s-ARGH!"_

 _Peridot shouted in fear as Garnet tried to punch her in the throat. She just managed to duck in time. She didn't understand why they were attacking her._

 _She yelled as she found herself wrapped in Amethyst's whip. Amethyst pulled her closer and closer. This time, Peridot wasn't so lucky. She found herself screaming for help, no reply to be heard. She felt a wave of cold water trickling down the neck. In fact, it was so cold that she was frozen. Her vision became blurry as she was pulled faster towards Amethyst, unable to escape her fate._

" _Why are you doing this?" She forced the words out of her mouth._

" _You didn't help us...so we're not going to help YOU!" Amethyst spoke in a monotone voice._

" _PLEASE! I DON'T WANT THIS! I WANTED TO HELP!" Peridot yelled in reply, getting closer and closer to her._

" _But you DIDN'T!" She replied. Peridot found herself being dragged faster and faster towards her. She couldn't move. She couldn't fight back. She'd lost...to herself._

* * *

"AAAHHHH!" Peridot woke with a start. Had she fallen asleep?

She paused as she realised who was in front of her. She tried to back up to the tree behind her but she was already there. She couldn't do anything but stare helplessly into the person's eyes.

"Did you sleep well, 5XA?"

Topaz.

"I...You...I..." Peridot couldn't speak. She was petrified. She had nothing. If Topaz was to fight her now, she'd be shattered in a matter of seconds. Topaz gave a giggle as the evil smile returned on her face. She summoned an axe, her grin getting larger and creepier every moment. Peridot closed her eyes. This was it. This was the end.

Yet, she didn't feel what she was expecting.

She opened her eyes and screamed. Her lips were covered with duct tape and her hands were bonded together with rope. Topaz laughed.

From behind the trees came two purple Gems, which Peridot recognised as Amethyst guards. She screamed again as both of them summoned whips from their gems, which made Topaz laugh even more.

"Oh, Peridot. You didn't think I was going to shatter you, did you?"

Peridot continued to stare, her face very pale.

"Don't be silly. You know exactly what I'm going to do,"

Peridot's eyes widened as she remembered the picture of Topaz and 5XA in the village. She watched in fear as Topaz got closer to her.

"We're going to be the best of friends..."

They were so close that their noses were touching.

"...Special friends,"


	11. Chapter 11 - Painful Regret

**_Hey everyone! I'm back already! Yay!_**

 ** _I'm going to be uploading A LOT of this story over the rest of this week so be prepared!_**

 ** _Quick note: PLEASE check to make sure you've read the previous chapter. Even if you think you have, just take a moment to check. I know some of you may have skipped it on accident since I uploaded two chapters very late at night and it's really important that you catch up before reading this chapter. I don't want you to accidently miss something important to the plot. Thanks!_**

 ** _Again, thanks for all of the reviews. I'm glad to know you're enjoying the story so far!_**

 ** _Apologies for this chapter being so short. They're going to get longer very, very soon... :D_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

" _What is wrong with me?!"_ Steven hated himself. He'd stopped Peridot from saving Lapis, lied to Pearl, abandoned everyone in Beach City and now he'd almost murdered Peridot, who was now probably somewhere far away. It had been hours since Peridot escaped and Steven hadn't managed to find the courage to even go downstairs.

"STEVEN! QUICK!" Yelled a voice from downstairs, which Steven instantly recognised as Topaz.

"What is it?" Steven asked her, his voice dull and cold.

"HOMEWORLD! THEY'RE OUTSIDE!"

Steven gasped. _"Homeworld?! That means..."_ He gasped. _" WHAT ABOUT PERIDOT?!"_

He ran down the stairs as fast as he could and found that Topaz had barricaded the door with chairs, a sofa, a television and other furniture. She was stood at the bottom of the stairs, her sword in her hand.

"STEVEN! HELP!" She cried out as he ran to her side. Instinctively, he bubbled them both right as the door burst open. Stood in the doorway were four Amethysts, two Jaspers and an Agate. They each summoned whips, apart from the Jaspers who summoned helmets.

"Oh golly," Topaz muttered. "This isn't gonna end well,"

The Agate and the Amethyst wrapped their whips around the bubble and tried to pop it.

"What do we do?" Steven yelled, struggling to keep his bubble up. "I can't keep the bubble up much longer!"

"I don't know!" Topaz exclaimed. The bubble was very tight and the two Gems were almost back to back.

With a loud pop, the bubble burst open and the whips tightened around them.

"Looks like them, alright," One of the Amethysts told the Agate.

"Hmm... good! Right, let's take them back to the ship," The Agate replied. "Yellow Diamond will be pleased,"

"YOU'RE GONNA TAKE US TO THE DIAMONDS?!" Steven suddenly shouted, which made the other Gems (including Topaz) jump. One of the Jaspers walked up to him, a helmet upon her head.

"This is our conversation, not yours,"

And with that, Steven's vision went black.

* * *

Steven woke with a start. He was in a cell which had a yellow forcefield to keep him captive.

He felt a sense of déjà vu.

Slowly, he slipped through the barrier, the strange material turning his veins temporarily yellow.

" _They never learn, do they?"_ He giggled quietly to himself as he began to tiptoe through the hallway. Like before, the cells were empty and dark, lit up only by the glowing yellow substance that denied any escape for prisoners.

" _Where would Topaz be?"_ He thought to himself, looking into each cell carefully.

He continued walking for what felt like hours, yet there was no sign of her. Eventually, he reached what seemed like a hall. It was so large, in fact, that Steven thought it could fit thousands and thousands of Gems inside.

However, there was still no sign of Topaz. Steven began to panic. What if he couldn't find her? Would they shatter her? The questions burned in his mind, making him anxious and upset.

Suddenly, he heard a loud roar from behind him. He spun around, expecting to see a Corrupted Gem ready to tear him to threads. Instead, he smiled, as he recognised the friendly creature that stood before him.

"LION!" He hugged the pink creature. "I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Lion simply gave a small purr and nuzzled Steven's head.

" _I bet you missed me too!"_ Steven smiled, happy to be reunited. His smile soon faded as he looked at Lion.

"Buddy, do you know where Topaz is?" He asked him. Lion knelt down before him and growled. "I'll take that as a yes!" And he hopped upon his back. "To Topaz!"

* * *

Lion skidded to a halt as his portal disappeared behind him. Steven was still riding on his back, gripping onto his mane, determined to rescue his last remaining friend.

They were outside a jail cell, somewhere else in the ship. Within the cell, Steven could see a figure crouched in a corner.

"Topaz! It's me! Steven!" He called out to her, walking through the forcefield.

"STEVEN!" She yelled in amazement. "You made it out!"

"Yep! Like always," Steven smiled, giving her a hand to help her up. She stood up and rubbed her cheek. "...Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Those Amethysts hit harder than I thought..." She told him, shrugging her shoulders.

"You're telling me!" Steven laughed, pointing at a large scratch on his forehead.

"Uhh... Steven?" Topaz asked, looking behind him. "Why is there a Lion on this ship?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. He's my pet," Steven reassured her. She watched, intrigued, as Lion used one of his portals to go somewhere else.

"You definitely have a very weird pet,"

* * *

Peridot opened her eyes. She was in a fairly dark room, which only had a couple of candles for lights. After she'd been knocked out by Topaz and the Amethysts in the forest, she'd been asleep for ages. Her head was throbbing – that had been one hard hit. She looked up to check her Gemstone...

Cracked.

She gave a sigh. There was no hope for her now.

Her mouth was still covered with duct tape and her hands were still tied with rope. That's when she realised she was also tied to a chair. Unable to escape, she decided to investigate her surroundings from where she was sat.

There were scratch marks along the floor and on the bottom half of the walls. Someone else had been here before her, clearly.

There was a yellow forcefield blocking the exit. She didn't quite understand the point of it, since she was already tied up to a chair and unable to move. Then she saw something that caught her interest.

Hung one of the walls, illuminated by candles, was another picture. This one depicted Topaz and 5XA stood next to each other at the Strawberry Battlefields. They were stood hugging like they were in the last picture. Topaz had a gun in her hand and seemed like she was crying. 5XA looked exhausted.

Peridot gasped.

This was the missing piece of the puzzle.


	12. Chapter 12 - Disturbing Plans

_**Hey everyone! I'm back with new chapters every day this week as promised!**_

 _ **Like I said last time, this chapter is short because of how intense the next few are going to be... :)**_

 ** _Thanks for the support - I'm really excited for you to see the next few chapters!_**

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"So what do we do now?" Steven questioned, looking at Topaz, who was now holding his hand. Both were now outside Topaz's cell, since Steven let her out.

"This is an GPS. We should find the core and destroy it," She answered, looking angrily at the floor.

"Uh... This is a ship, not a GPS..." Steven pointed out, confused.

"GPS stands for Gem Powered Ship," She explained, getting tired of explaining things to him.

"Right. So, where's the core?" He asked. Topaz facepalmed.

"I don't know. Stop asking questions. Let's just split up. I'll down the right side of the corridor, you go down the left, got it?" She was clearly trying to not get _too_ upset at Steven's inquisitive behaviour, which he picked up on and immediately shook his head. "Great! Now let's get going!"

* * *

Steven ran down the left corridor by himself. He turned a couple of corners before he found something on a wall that intrigued him.

It was a glass box with a gun inside.

For a moment, he wondered whether he should take it to protect himself but soon decided against it after he remembered he'd promised Pearl that he'd never get anywhere near a gun. Even if she wasn't there, he didn't want to break a promise. Plus, he'd never used a gun in his whole life.

As he continued his search through the corridors, he came to a room that he recognised.

A bubbling room.

He looked through the window and he was stunned.

There were even more Gem Shards than the previous one. This one was filled to the top; it would be impossible to even walk in. Millions of shards, all in one place – it made him feel sick. All of these Shards were what was left the original Crystal Gems that had been tortured by Homeworld until they were shattered.

" _Homeworld is crueller than I thought...How is that even possible?"_ He thought, continuing to peer through the window. It hurt to think about, to know that everyone he cared about had been a part of this awful tragedy. A thought struck his mind.

" _Topaz said this ship was powered by Gems. If it's powered by the shards, that means..."_ He paused.

" _The core must be inside that room!"_

* * *

Peridot looked down at her feet. It had been hours since she'd woken up from the attack and was still isolated in a cell on the ship. Nobody was coming to rescue her.

Nobody cared.

Tears had been trickling down her face non-stop for the past half an hour. There were tear stains all the way down her cheeks and her eyes were sore. She'd worked out the final piece of the puzzle... but she knew she wasn't strong enough or brave enough to fight back.

" _Fighting back... is for tough Gems with sharp weapons, high intelligence... and friends. I have none of those..."_ She told herself. _"How am I meant to protect the Earth... when I can't even protect myself...?"_

The forcefield evaporated for a moment, and a figure stepped through the empty space. Peridot felt the last specks of her hope vanish when she saw Topaz looking at her with her normal terrifying grin upon her face.

"Sorry I'm late, 5XA. I hope I didn't keep you waiting," The forcefield reappeared behind her, making an ear-piercing screech as it did so.

Peridot couldn't run away - she was strapped tightly to a chair, no sign of escape even slightly accessible. There was no use screaming any more – her mouth was sealed shut with duct tape and even is someone heard her, nobody would come to her rescue.

"Steven took way too long to find me," She continued talking, shapeshifting a jacket over her dress. "These cells are much colder than I remember,"

Peridot's eyes widened a tiny bit more. _"Steven is on board?"_

"I told him to dismantle the core of the ship," She stood in front of Peridot and did various arm movements as she spoke. Peridot began to sweat. She didn't like how this conversation was going. "What he doesn't know is that that's not what powers the ship. The core of the ship is what tells the ship where to go. When he dismantles it, the ship shall automatically go to the nearest Diamond Base, which happens to be a very nice location to live. Don't worry, Steven won't have to see it... He'll have been dealt with, by then,"

Peridot was petrified. Steven was in danger and she couldn't help him, no matter how hard she tried. Even if he didn't care about him, she still cared about him.

But it didn't matter. She couldn't save him. She had nothing and nobody to help her – this was it.

"Aww, don't look upset, honey," Topaz knelt down in front of her and wiped away the tears that had gathered in Peridot's eyes. "Every good thing must come to an end," Topaz looked up at the photo that hung on the wall before turning back to face her. "I'm sorry you never got your perfect ending that you wanted. Not every couple is meant to be,"

Peridot wanted to run away and warn Steven. She'd rather be shattered than have him be killed. She struggled, desperately trying to escape the ropes that held her in place. Topaz was in hysterics, laughing at Peridot's failed attempt at an escape.

"Oh, honey. You never learn, do you?" Topaz looked back to the forcefield. "I've got to go now. I have some business to attend to. Be good while I'm gone!"

As Topaz walked towards the forcefield, it disappeared. She summoned a small weapon, which Peridot couldn't quite make out from where she was sat. She walked through the gap again and it closed up behind her.

Peridot watched in a depressed silence as Topaz went away. She'd lost to her.

"Steven is going to die and it was all my fault that I couldn't save him,"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light inside her cell that almost blinded her. When it vanished, she found herself staring into the eyes of a creature.

A furry, pink creature.


	13. Chapter 13 - Horrible Truth

_**Hello again!**_

 _ **We're back to the regularly length chapters now. So grab your cookie cats and your bags of chaaaaps, things are about to get intense! VERY intense...**_

 _ **Some sad news: There are only 5 or 6 chapters left of the story! Don't get upset yet - there MIGHT be a sequel coming soon! (And by might, I mean there definitely will be!)**_

 _ **Speaking of sad stuff, another feels warning for this chapter. SADNESS INCOMING!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

" _This isn't going to work,"_ Steven told himself, nervous about entering the bubbling room. He didn't want to break any of the already-shattered Gems that filled the room.

" _How am I meant to even meant to walk in? I wish Topaz was here to help..."_

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Topaz stood with her arms crossed, a smile upon her face.

"Do you need help?" She asked him, giggling quietly to herself. He gave a sigh of relief – she was always there when he needed her.

"Yeah... I'm... kinda scared to go inside..." He admitted. "...I don't want to break those Gems even more..."

"You do realise this isn't where the core is, right?" She grinned, making Steven very confused.

"But this is where all of the Gem Shards are! The core has got to be in there!" He exclaimed, puzzled as to where else the core would be. "If the ship is powered by Gems, then it should be in here!"

"You're wrong. This room is for shattering Crystal Gems left from the Rebellion. It takes fully-functioning Gems to power a ship this large. The core is in the largest room in the ship so that other Gems can watch over it and keep it safe. The other Gems on this ship have been dealt with, though," She explained, laughing a little more. Steven gasped – he knew where the biggest room was!

"Topaz! I know where the biggest room is!" He yelled with excitement as he remembered the hall that he'd entered and met Lion in. Topaz smiled a happy, yet vicious smile.

"Good. You lead the way and I'll follow,"

* * *

Peridot stared into Lion's eyes, a look of bewilderment in her eyes.

" _What is he doing here?"_ She asked herself, giving the pink animal a strange look. Lion walked up to the chair she was sat on and sat in front of it.

" _Oh, why does it matter if he's here? "_ She questioned. She'd lost her hope when Topaz had told her plans to her. _"It's probably too late anyway..."_

Suddenly, Lion stood back up and walked behind her chair, where her hands were.

" _Uhh..."_ Peridot watched as he bit into the ropes that held her to the chair. She gasped internally as he continued to bite into the ropes that bound her hands together.

Quickly, she ripped off the duct tape that kept her mouth shut and hugged Lion.

"Thank you, Lion..." She whispered to him. "...I could've been stuck here forever, if it wasn't for you..." Lion roared impatiently and lowered his head. Peridot gave a quiet shriek as she realised what this meant.

Steven was still alive but he was in trouble.

In a hurry, she gently climbed onto Lion's back. _"It's up to me, now..."_ She reached up and felt her Gem, which was cracked worse than the last time she'd checked.

" _...Oh stars..."_

* * *

"Now that's GOT to be the core!" Steven pointed to a glowing yellow machine at the complete other side of the hall. He attempted to summon his shield but failed. He was exhausted from running down what seemed like a million corridors without a break. He urgently needed a rest. Topaz summoned her baseball bat and handed it to him.

"That's it alright!" She confirmed, rubbing her hands together. "You go destroy it. I'll wait here,"

Steven walked forward slowly, his legs aching from the long run. Summoning the last of his strength, he bashed the yellow-orange baseball bat with all of his might against the machine which made him incredibly weak. It broke in two hits, which was surprising due to Steven's lack of energy. He fell onto the floor.

"Topaz! We did i-" He froze as he turned around.

Topaz was pointing a gun at him.

"Uhh... What's the gun for?" He asked cautiously, backing away a little. Topaz gave a laugh and smiled.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You seriously didn't see this coming?!" She told him, unable to control her demonic cackle. Steven gasped. "Did you really think I cared about you?"

"Y-Yes?" Steven answered, tired and unable to run.

"You silly boy," She laughed even more, moving her finger onto the trigger. "You believed me,"

Steven couldn't run. He couldn't do anything. His whole body was painful and his head was pounding.

"Why would a Gem like me even want to join the Crystal Gems?" She yelled hysterically. Her plan had gone even easier than she'd first thought it would. "Humans are all so stupid!"

"So are Gems like you," Came a voice from one of the other sides of the hall. Both Steven and Topaz turned their heads and gasped.

That voice belonged to Peridot. She was riding upon Lion, who had glowing white eyes. She jumped off of him and run in front of Steven, throwing her arms out to protect him. Lion went back down the corridor.

"Good evening, Topaz. It's nice to see you," Peridot told her sarcastically. Topaz growled.

"That Lion..." She muttered, irritated by her prisoner's sudden appearance.

"Did you miss me?" Peridot continued to joke at her, still stood with her arms out to protect Steven.

" _What is she doing?!"_ Steven thought to himself, watching helplessly as Peridot made fun of Topaz.

"Step away from him..." Topaz commanded her, her figure still resting firmly on the trigger.

"Uhh, let me think... No," Peridot pretended to think before turning back to her, sarcasm getting heavier and heavier in her voice. "Now, if you don't mind, can you shoot me please?"

Steven and Topaz's jaws dropped.

"Peri...What are you...doing...?" Steven forced the words out his mouth, stunned by what she had requested.

"5XA, step aside..." Topaz was angry, her eyes almost red with fury. "...You know EXACTLY what I'll do if you don't..."

"Then do it," Peridot dared her, remaining stood protectively in front of Steven, who's mind was completely filled with confused and scared thoughts. "It shouldn't be hard for you, since you've done it BEFORE!" She yelled that last word, anger in her own voice.

Topaz scowled and raised the gun up at Peridot's Gem. "Don't make me, 5XA..." She muttered. "...Just step aside," She smiled her evil smile but this time, Peridot didn't back down.

"You and 5XA were close, closer than any other Gems, perhaps on the level of Ruby and Sapphire. I never understood what happened," Peridot began to explain, making Topaz even more angry. "That's when I saw the photo in the cell you locked me in. The Crystal Gems started the Rebellion. You fought against the rebels together, staying close to each others side. That's when 5XA changed her mind, wasn't it?"

Topaz was crying, a look of pain-filled rage upon her face. "5XA, stop..." Peridot didn't even listen.

"5XA joined the Crystal Gems and you were forced to fight her." Peridot spoke slowly, emphasising her point. Steven could only listen as she talked, unable to even speak because of how exhausted he was. "In the picture, you were holding that same gun you are holding now. That is what you shattered her with, correct?"

Topaz's figure pressed a little bit more on the trigger, not enough to fire it though. "I'm warning you..."

Steven began to tear up. "Peri... She'll.. Shatter...You..." Peridot swiftly turned her head to face him.

"Don't worry. I'm gonna shatter whether she shoots me or not," She whispered to him so that Topaz couldn't hear. Steven look up at the Gem on her forehead and gasped at the deep crack. It ran all the way along her Gem, only millimetres from the edge. "I'm not risking anything important – I have nothing important left but you,"

Steven began to cry, what was finally happening finally sinking into his mind. Peridot was sacrificing everything for him, even after what he'd done to her.

She turned back to face Topaz, who was crying. "I don't wanna fight you, 5XA," Topaz muttered to her, her voice filled with sadness. Peridot smirked.

"I'm not scared of you any more!" She shouted, stomping her foot on the ground with determination.

"Peri...Please...Stop..." Steven could barely speak, tears dripping down his face. She gave him one last look before she turned back to Topaz.

"Topaz, stop acting like such a wimp and shoot me!" She screeched,

"You love you, 5XA! I'm sorry!" Topaz looked down at her, pleading her to stop. Peridot shut her eyes for a moment before opening them again - she'd already made her decision. "Please don't make me do this again, 5XA!"

"I'M 5XG AND I'M NOT YOUR LOVER!"

 **BANG.**


	14. Chapter 14 - Heartbroken Appologies

_**Hey everybody! I'm back!**_

 _ **Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone - it means the world to me and I'm always excited to hear what you think! I hope the cliffhanger didn't annoy you TOO much...**_

 _ **For the time being, chapters will be staying roughly this length.**_

 _ **Feels warning again - this is becoming like a tradition to this story.**_

 _ **Also, tomorrows chapter might be up VERY late, due to some technical difficulties. My apologies if that happens.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

A small explosion filled the area as the gunshot sounded, proceeded by two very loud screams.

"NO!" Steven shouted, he couldn't see what had happened but he had a very, very bad feeling. He struggled to see through the dust and smoke, still unable to stand up due to his lack of energy. Coughing and spluttering, he forced himself to shuffle along the ground to find Peridot.

The smoke soon cleared and he gasped. A glitching figure was lying on the ground beside him.

Peridot.

He rushed to her side, his hands shaking with fear as he turned her head. Her Gem was cracked horrendously, the crack running all the way to the edges. There was a glowing, orange-yellow bullet stuck in the middle. She wasn't making any sounds and her eyes were shut.

"NO! PLEASE NO!" He yelled, resting her head on his knee. Slowly, opened her eyes – they were pure white like Pearl's were. He felt tears stream down his face. "NO!"

"...S-Sorry..." She whispered the word, her Gem cracking a little more.

"No! It's not your fault! I should've trusted you! I should've believed you! I don't know what I was doing! You were right! You're always right! I almost killed you! It's my fault!" Steven felt tears streaming endlessly down his cheeks.

"...N-Not...f-fault...D-Don't...b-blame...self...h-her..." Her voice was croaky, her whole body weak from the damage. Steven understood what she was trying to say – it was Topaz's fault, not his. He didn't care what Topaz was doing, he hadn't even looked at her after the smoke.

"I'm sorry...I should've done more..." He continued to blame himself. Peridot gave a small sigh. "She... she won. You're dying..."

"...L-look..." She muttered, looking back down the corridor. Steven followed her gaze.

There, by the exit, were 6 orange-yellow Gem Shards and a gun. Steven's eyes widened and he turned back to Peridot. "...C-Couldn't...handle...t-truth..."

"I...I'm... Thank you, Peridot. You saved the Earth. You saved me," He touched her cheek gently and she gave him a little smile.

Her Gem cracked even more, deepening and lengthening. Her eyes were shutting again.

"NO! DON'T GO! NOT YET!" He looked at her with desperate eyes, wishing he was just dreaming. "I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO SAY!"

Peridot gave him another small smile. "...T-Thanks...for...f-for everything..." She was incredibly quiet, unable to stay for much longer. "...M-Meet...a-again..." Her eyes shut completely.

"NO! PLEASE!" He was soaked with tears. He couldn't take it the loss of someone else. "S-SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!"

No reply.

"DON'T GO!"

No reply.

"I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU!"

No reply.

He cradled her in his arms, tears gushing out of his eyes. Her Gemstone gave a small flicker of light as if to symbolise her last moments.

She was going to shatter right now.

"I-If you can still here me... I just wanna say..." He stared at her and lightly pulled her face towards his. She was cold and motionless. "...I LOVE YOU, PERIDOT!"

And he kissed her, bang on the lips. His mind was cleared, everything bad slowly drifting from his thoughts.

Gently, he began to let go, his eyes still shut, as he finished the kiss...

...With a jolt, he felt two arms wrap around his neck and pull him back to her. His eyes opened with surprise and he was shocked to see Peridot kissing him back, her Gem fully healed. He relaxed and the two stayed in the same position for about a minute, neither of them wanting to move.

Eventually, Steven let go.

"I think we'd better stop now, before we start to freak people out!" He joked and Peridot laughed.

"Yeah, good idea," She smiled. Steven paused.

"Peri, I thought you were shattered!" He exclaimed, very confused.

"If I were shattered, my physical form wouldn't still be there," She pointed out, a wide grin upon her face. "I also believe that both you and I forgot about your healing powers," Steven blushed.

"Whoops..." He apologised. "Sorry!"

"It's ok. As long as we're together, how could things possibly go wrong?" She giggled to herself and Steven gave a sigh of relief.

Then, as if on cue, Lion came dashing down the hall to them, his eyes full of fear and hurt.

"What's up, Lion?" Steven asked, standing up. He reached a hand down and Peridot stood up with him. "Is something wrong?" He looked out of the window behind him. "Uhh... Peri?"

"Yes?"

"Where is the ship going?"

She froze, realising what was happening. "We're going to another planet,"

"WHAT?! WHERE?!" He looked out of the window too. They were quickly approaching a planet which Steven didn't recognise from sight.

"Portal," She replied.

"What is 'portal' meant to mean?!" He yelled, holding her hand.

"I said PORTAL!" She shouted back as a lime-green bubble formed around them and Lion. " I can't keep the bubble up! Lion, can you make a portal back to Earth?"

As they were about seconds away from colliding with the ground, Lion roared and lowered his body.

"I'll take that as a yes," Steven giggled, climbing on his back. Peridot sat behind him, holding onto Steven's shoulders for support. She could never quite get used to the feeling of leaping through portals.

* * *

"-AAHHHHH!" Peridot finished screaming as Lion skidded to a halt. The two Gems accidentally collided with the wall in front of them – it didn't hurt them too much, though.

"Ouch!" Steven rubbed his shoulder. "Lion, you really need to learn how to stop properly!" He helped Peridot up again. "Are you ok?"

"Yep!" She answered. The duo looked around as Lion walked off somewhere.

They were inside the Temple. Corrupted Lapis was sat on the sofa surrounded by multiple torn blankets, a broken board game and a smashed television. She'd clearly been bored while they were away. She turned her head, run up to Peridot and nuzzled her.

"Hey, Lapis!" She greeted her dragon-like friend with a stroke along her neck. "We've missed you!"

The corruption gave what sounded similar to a cat purr as she spread her long wings to stretch.

"Don't worry, Lapis. We'll cure you soon," Steven told her, looking her in the eyes. "We promise!"

She seemed to smile back, to which Steven and Peridot smiled back.

"We should probably start immediately if we're going to find a cure that hasn't been found in hundreds and thousands of years," Peridot pointed out, eager to begin their quest.

"What about Lapis? We can't just leave her here alone again!" He objected, holding Peridot's hand, who had now turned to face him.

"It'd be to dangerous for her to come with us. After all, you saw what happened LAST time we brought somebody along with us," Peridot sadly replied, watching Lapis' face sink a little as they stepped upon the warp pad. "I'm sure you'll be fine for a while, Lapis,"

Something was going right for once.

Well, That's what they thought...


	15. Chapter 15 - Corrupting Love

_**Hello!**_

 ** _I'm SO SO SO SORRY everyone! It's been what feels like FOREVER since I uploaded my last chapter. I had some home drama and then, just to make it even better my laptop decided to stop working. Things just keep getting worse and worse for me..._**

 _ **Anyway, this chapter is a bit of a heart-breaker, but not as hard as the last few.**_

 _ **Also (Spoilers for the recent Stevenbomb), Topaz is now a Gem in the show and she's COMPLETELY different to my Topaz. (Insert annoyed face here). For the sake of this story (and my sanity!), let's just say that Canon Topaz doesn't exist. Also, Aquamarine is probably one of the best villains on the show yet.**_

 _ **I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story! I've tweaked my ideas to fit with some of your requests and so there will be more chapters of this story than I actually thought. In other words, 10+ more chapters! :D**_

 _ **Thanks for the positive reviews! Everything you say means so much to me. You give me the motivation to keep writing. I'm also very excited to see what your reviews/reactions are going to be to this chapter...hehe...**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Warp Pad! Take us to one of the Corrupted Crystal Gems!" Peridot commanded, stomping her foot in a confident sort of way, rather than an angry way. However, she gave a small frown. "Steven, why isn't the Warp Pad working?"

Her question was quickly followed by a guilty moan from Lapis, which made them both groan with irritation. Steven felt around the side of the warp and felt a crack down the side.

"That's just brilliant!" Peridot sarcastically broke the silence. "Just what we needed, right Steven?"

"Well, looks like we're going to need to find another Warp Pad. Any ideas?" He turned to face her, his hands on his hips.

"Hmm... There's one at the barn..." She suggested, rubbing her chin in thought. "How'd we get there though?"

"Of course!" He clicked fingers as a thought struck him. He turned back to their corrupted friend, who was weeping quietly on the sofa. "Lapis, can you still fly?"

Lapis looked up. If her corrupted form would have had eyes, there'd definitely have been stars in them. She stretched out her wings and lowered them to Steven's height. He gave Peridot a nod and the two climbed upon Lapis' back.

"To the barn!" Peridot exclaimed. The Corrupted Gem gave a snort, as if trying laugh her normal way, which made Steven giggle. Lapis backed up a little, positioning herself and spreading her wings. Even though she was corrupted, Steven knew she was still herself. Peridot put her hands on Steven's waist in order to stay on.

"Ready, Freddy?" Steven asked, excited to fly again. The corruption gave a smile, which made Peridot a bit uneasy.

"Lapis, don't go too fa-AAAHH!"

With a sudden jolt of energy, Lapis (with the two Gems upon her back) broke through the roof and high up into the air.

"LAAAAPPPIIIISSS!" Peridot yelled, her arms desperately wrapped around Steven's waist. Again, Lapis just gave her signature laugh, this time even louder. She slowed down a little and lowered herself closer to the ocean, much to Peridot's relief.

Steven reached his hand down and felt the water as they flew over the vast sea of water. As they moved along, he made a small wave. Peridot was just still sat behind him, looking up at her Gem, probably deep in thought. Well, he wouldn't be surprised after what had happened earlier that day. His face lit up. "Peri! Put your hand in the water! It feels great!"

"What?" She looked him in the eyes. "Why? Will that help us?"

"It'll make you feel better!" He replied, looking at her in the eyes. "Just put your hand in! It's really cool!"

She slowly lowered her hand down, hesitant to let go. Though, her trust for Steven and Lapis suddenly made her overcome her fear and she quickly reached down.

"H-Huh. This is actually pretty great,"

"See?" Steven smiled, his warm, infectious smile making Peridot smile back. "I told you, it'd help,"

"Just being with you helped me," She splashed her hand a little, enjoying his company. "Let's never be apart again,"

"Yeah," He splashed his own hand around a little too before looking into her eyes. "Peri, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Your what?" Peridot looked at him inquisitively, confused as to what a 'girlfriend' was.

"My girlfriend. It means you love me and you love me more than anyone else. It also means that you want to be with me forever," He explained.

Peridot excitedly took her hand out of the water, accidentally splashing her visor in the process.

"Oops! I really need to calm down. My visor really gets on my nerves sometimes," She took off her visor and wiped it with her arm, before fitting it back on. "Is this better?"

"You know..." He softly began. He carefully took his hand out of the ocean and shook it dry. Then, without even mentioning it, he lifted Peridot's visor off and threw it into the ocean. He affectionately put a hand on her cheek. "...I prefer it like this,"

Peridot blushed deep green and felt Steven hold her hand. The world looked so much better when it was in colour – especially Steven.

"I think I prefer it too,"

* * *

Suddenly, without warning, Lapis came to a sudden halt. Steven and Peridot looked in front of her and gasped.

They were a few metres away from the barn floating just above the ground. Stood in-front of them sat something that appeared to resemble a small purple creature with long hair, similar to Corrupted Jasper. Reality hit them like a blow to the head.

"Is that...Amethyst?" Peridot muttered, gripping onto Steven's hand a little tighter. Lapis gave a quiet moan as the Corrupted Quartz gave a threatening growl. Steven tried to get off, but was hurriedly pulled back on by Peridot.

"Peridot, let me go," He insisted. "I might be able to help her!"

"...Steven..." She began. "...I don't want to risk losing you again..."

"Peri, I know you want me to be safe but... if there's a chance I can help her, even just temporarily, I need to try," He looked confidently into her blue and yellow eyes, in which Steven could see the panic and stress built up inside of her. "Trust me, Dot,"

Peridot cautiously bit her lip.

"I-I..." She twiddled her thumbs for a moment, deciding on whether to agree, before looking back at him. "Alright. Just be careful,"

"Thanks, Peri," He slowly let go of her hand, and jumped off of Lapis' back.

Amethyst growled a little more.

"Amethyst, it's me, Steven. Can you hear me?" He slowly stepped towards her, as she edged backwards. "Are you in there?" She growled even louder this time but Steven believed in himself. Lapis felt Peridot tense up in worry as he reached a hand out and put it on the Corrupted Quartz' head.

The corruption roared and Peridot almost fell of off Lapis in surprise. Claws expanded from Amethyst's paws.

"Steven! Run! She's gonna attack!" Peridot yelled as Lapis dashed towards him. A purple spark of electricity beginning to grow on Amethyst's back, which symbolised the start of her spin attack. Yet, Steven didn't move. He didn't speak. He just remained stood there, his hand upon Amethyst's head. Lapis began to fly up, Peridot desperately trying to get Steven's attention.

"What are you doing, Steven?! She's gonna shatter us!" With a spark, Lapis came crashing to the ground. He turned his head to face her for a moment and gave a deep breath before turning back to Amethyst.

"...There's only one way to fix this..." Steven looked the corruption directly in the eyes. "...I know I shouldn't do this...but I have to..." A glow began to spread throughout his body which triggered Amethyst's Gem to glow too.

"WHAT?! WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Peridot was shouting at the top of her voice, panic consuming her thoughts and movements. He turned to face her again, tears trickling down his cheeks.

"...Promise me..." He muttered to her. "...that you can find this cure, and fix us..." His Gem was glowing even brighter now, Amethyst's skin beginning to glow too.

"NO! WAIT!" Peridot had suddenly realised what he was doing. She'd (almost) given everything up to protect him, now he was giving up everything to protect her. He was attempting to force-fuse with the Corrupted Gem to protect her.

"...Promise me..." He continued. "...that you'll remember the moments we've shared..." Peridot felt tears streaming down her own face. She could fix a shattered Gem but fixing a corruption... that was something nobody had been able to do.

"STEVEN! NO! WE CAN FIGURE THIS OUT!" She reached out to grab his hand, only to be pulled back by a very protective Lapis. "STOP!"

"...It's too late..." He smiled a small smile. "...Just promise me that you'll let me go..."

"NO! NO! STOP!" She could take any more. She began to run to her lover who was now very, very far away. She knew she couldn't make it, but she pushed herself onwards. "PLEASE! STOP!"

"...Tell me..." He finished his sentence, as Peridot continued to run. "...Will you remember me, even if I don't remember you? Will you still treasure the moments we've shared, even if I don't remember them?" He paused, the light almost blinding Peridot's eyes, which were still adjusting to the light without her visor. "...Will you still love me, even if I'm not there?"

"I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! I'LL CURE YOU STEVEN! I'LL CURE EVERYONE! WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN! FOREVER!" She shouted, tears streaming out of her eyes. "I PROMISE!"

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you..."

A ball of white light filled the area, knocking Peridot to the floor in the process. It was painful to look at, even from metres away.

As the light cleared, Lapis and Peridot felt their hearts snap in two (metaphorically, of course). In the far distance they could see a corrupted Smoky Quartz fusion running far away. It was hard to make out the specific details, but it definitely wasn't normal.

The corruption turned to face her one last time, it's 'face' stained with tears.

It was the last thing Peridot saw before she collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

 _Peridot woke slowly. She was laying down, her legs chained to a wall on one side of the hall in the ship she was previously on, various scratch marks on her body. "What happened? How am I...? This makes no sense!" She thought to herself, sitting up and looking at herself. "Am I dreaming?"_

 _A loud bang and an orange bullet flying past her head and into the wall caused her to look up, where she saw a figure stood before her. It was tall, thin and completely black, like a shadow._

" _Peridot!" It yelled, making her shake. As it began to walk towards her, the shadow stepped into the light and Peridot felt herself staring into the eyes of Topaz. She had cracks long her skin and one of her eyes was replaced by a button."Look what you have done!"_

" _W-What?" Peridot wanted to run, but the chains held her in place._

" _He didn't have to, you know." She continued, kneeling down before her. "You let him save you,"_

" _I didn't have a choice!" Peridot tried to defend herself._

" _This is all YOUR fault!" Topaz yelled in her face. "YOU let him fuse! Don't you care?"_

" _I-I... Of course I care!" Peridot was getting nervous. However, she still shouted her point back. "I saved his life by shattering YOU!"_

" _At least I'm not going to feel anything. That human child is trapped in endless misery; a dark, depressing agony that will twist and break his mind. A slow, painful descent into insanity - he'll lose himself. You let him go and fight a battle he can't win and made him a promise you can't keep," Topaz stared into Peridot's scared blue and yellow eyes. "Do you REALLY love him?"_

" _...I...I..." The small green gem was lost for words. Even if it was a dream (which was the natural assumption since she was shattered), everything Topaz had said was true. She really had messed up everything._

" _...You're right..." Peridot answered. "...He deserves somebody else..." She started to tear up. "...I think... I think I shattered him..." She looked at Topaz with sad eyes._

" _I know how it feels to lose someone. I know the pain. You just need to move on..." Topaz lifted Peridot's head up with her hand. "...I like you...I'll always like you,"_

" _Even though...?" Peridot shut her eyes for a moment and wept. With one hand, she reached up and touched the button which Topaz now had for her left eye, thinking about what she'd done to Topaz on the ship, before bringing her hand to her chest. "Topaz, I've made up my mind,"_

" _What is it?" Topaz put her hand by Peridot's. In an unexpected movement, Peridot reached and grabbed her hand romantically._

" _Topaz, I want to be with you..._

 _...Forever,"_


	16. Chapter 16 - Strange Dilemmas

_**Hello everyone!**_

 _ **Hopefully this chapter isn't too late/short. I've been busy with tests and keeping up with the show and stuff. I'm free for the rest of the week though so... More chapters soon!**_

 ** _SPOILERS FOR THE WANTED STEVENBOMB: That was INCREDIBLE! *Claps* The new Gems are amazing (Especially Padparadscha), the plot was amazing, the sound effects were amazing, the backgrounds were amazing - EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING! Now I don't know who really shattered Pink Diamond! Was it White Diamond? Was it Yellow? Was it Rose? Was it Onion? I think it's Onion XD. Anyway, I honestly can't believe Lars literally DIED (I know it was only for a few seconds but whaaaat?!) Everything was incredibly well-written though - a round of applause for the Crewniverse!_** ** _*Claps again*_**

 _ **Again, thanks for the support - you're my inspiration for writing. I love hearing what you thought about the chapter and what you think/hope is going to happen next! Feel free to write a review. It'd make my day. :)**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

A sigh exited the fusion's mouth. Steven knew that he had to stay force-fused with Amethyst – it was for both his and Peridot's good. However, it still felt horrible being in a fusion like this.

The Corruption stared at the ground, deep in thought.

" _I can't go back,"_ Steven told himself, looking up at the stars in the night sky. _"We're in enough trouble as it is,"_

The Corruption gave a small howl.

He began to break down, his heart feeling like it was being torn apart. _"Soon, I'm going to lose myself. I'm going to attack everything and everyone I see. I won't remember who I used to be..."_

The Fusion began to cry.

" _...I won't remember her. I might fight her. I might poof her. I might crack her. I might sh-"_ He stopped himself from thinking it. _"Oh, what would she do? What would Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst do?"_

He began to sing.

"Life... And Death... and... Love and Birth..." The voice of the corruption was quite raspy as it sung. "And Peace and War... On the Planet Earth...Is there anything...That's worth m-ARGH!"

The fusion split apart unexpectedly. Steven felt himself corrupting. He didn't know what was going on...

...So he kept singing.

"-That's worth more, than peace and love on the planet Earth?" His corruption began to stop. It was like he was... uncorrupting? "Oh-woah. Come on and sing it with- me?"

He was so incredibly confused that he stopped singing. At this point, his body was glowing.

With a small flash and a quiet, small explosion, Steven found himself sat by himself on the cold grass in the field.

He looked at his hands and turned them over. He was surprisingly fine.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Yo, where are we?"

"AMETHYST!" Steven yelled standing up and giving his friend a massive hug.

"T-That's a little TOO tight, bro," She hugged him back. "Why are you so excited to see me? What did I miss?"

"You don't remember?" He pulled away. "Wow, I really need to catch you up,"

"Ooh! Story time with Ste-man!" She replied excitedly. "C'mon, what happened?"

"Cut a long story short, Pearl shattered and you, Garnet and Lapis got corrupted. Then me and Peridot got abducted and put on a ship - for some strange reason – and I met a Gem called Topaz, who help me find Peri. Then the ship crashed and apparently the people of Beach City found us and when I woke up, Peri was poofed but she came back. Then, Topaz came in and Peri made friends with her – I think – and then I connected to Pearl in my dreams again and then we left. We found Lapis corrupted in the Beach House and then we went to Mask Island, which was completely deserted and then Topaz set it up to make it look like Peri wanted to kill me when she actually didn't. Then I shouted at Peri when she confessed her love for me and-"

"-I KNEW IT!" Amethyst yelled. "I knew she had a thing for you!"

"-Anyway," Steven cut back in. "Then she ran away because I almost killed her out of anger, then I sat crying for, like, ten minutes and then some Homeworld Gems came and kidnapped Topaz and I and then I shut down the ships core and Topaz tried to kill me but Peri stood up for me and she ended up shattering Peri and then shattered herself. Then I brought Peri back to life with my healing powers and then we found Lion and then we got Lapis and then she brought me here with Peri. Then we discovered you were corrupted and then you tried to kill us so I force-fused with you. Then I ran away and sung a song and then, BOOM! Here we are!"

"Yo, that was the most boring explanation of a story I've heard," She laughed, putting an arm around Steven's shoulder. "So, I missed some epic stuff, 'ay?"

"It was awesome! You should've seen it when Peri stood up to Topaz!" Steven exclaimed excitedly. "She was a straight up savage!"

"I bet that was the best thing Peri had ever-" She paused mid-sentence as she noticed something quickly heading towards them both. "-done?"

Steven looked in the same direction. Flying towards them was Corrupted Lapis. Instinctively, Amethyst turned to run, only to have Steven put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Amethyst! It's Lapis! She won't hurt us," He stood up as Lapis came closer. "Lapis is herself. She isn't as corrupted as the others,"

"Yo, Lapis!" Amethyst casually greeted her as she landed quite elegantly upon the ground.

The corrupted Gem started pacing around, her right wing spread as if she was pointing to the barn. Her body was in a position of what probably represented panic (It was hard to tell, due to her being corrupted).

"What's wrong?" Steven asked, beginning to panic himself. "Did something happen?"

The Corruption opened it's mouth in an attempt to speak. Though, all that left her mouth were screeches and howls.

"I don't understand!" He knelt down and lifted one of her small paws into his hand. "Let me heal you, then I'll be able to understand,"

"Ste-man, wait!" Amethyst cut in. "When you healed me, I forgot everything. If you heal Lapis, she'll probably forget what the problem was!"

"Ok then. Lapis, fly us to the problem," He motioned for Amethyst to climb on Lapis' back with him, which she hastily did.

With a sudden jolt, Lapis urgently flew into the air at top speed.

* * *

It was about an hour later when they eventually arrived outside The Barn. It was still night time, the stars hung in the sky like lanterns lighting up a path.

Laying on the cold, wooden floor was Peridot, who appeared to be smiling and crying in her sleep. Her hair was a mess and her eyes and her Gem were completely hidden. Her clothes were ripped and torn. She was in the doorway, a torn purple blanket over her body which Lapis had probably found for her.

"Aww... She looks so peaceful..." Steven muttered, jumping off Lapis' back.

"Yeah, your new girlfriend sure can sleep," Amethyst replied, putting her arm around Steven's neck in a joking way. "She looks like she could sleep forever,"

"Wait, how long has she been asleep for?" Steven suddenly asked, spinning around to face Lapis, who was galloping towards the small, green Gem. Slowly, she summoned a water hand from the pool...

...And slapped Peridot in the face with it.

Yet, she didn't even move a single millimetre.

"Whoa, dude! She can't wake up!" Amethyst turned to Steven, who was desperately throwing stuff off of the shelves in an attempt to find something to help her.

"Amethyst! Help me and Lapis wake Peri up!" Steven exclaimed in alarm, grabbing Amethyst's wrist and dragging her over the shelves with him.

"There's got to be something in there!" Amethyst pointed to Peridot's pile of stuff which she had previously planned to get rid of and began to search, Steven hurrying to help.

"Have you found anything, yet?" Amethyst asked, looking up from the pile.

"No. We need to keep searching," He told her. He wasn't going to let her go. Not this time.

"Steven... Are you sure we should keep looking?" Amethyst stopped looked over again. Steven didn't look up. "Steven?"

"Yes, I'm sure," He replied sternly.

"Listen, Steven. I don't want to say it but... We need to leave her here,"

Steven paused. _"What?"_ He thought to himself.

"Steven, Peri will be fine. She's ALWAYS fine. She's a tough Gem. We just need to leave her alone,"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW IF SHE'S GONNA BE OK?!" As he looked up at her, he felt tears gather in his eyes. "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HER, AMETHYST!" Grabbing a tissue from a tissue box that he the behind him, he wiped his eyes. "...Sorry..."

"It's ok, Steven," She walked over to him and helped him stand up. The two sat together next to Peridot.

"I'm just so worried about her," He began to cry, tears trickling down his cheeks. "After what I did for her...Who knows what she's done to herself?..." He saw Amethyst hand him another tissue. "Thanks, Amethyst,"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, dude. She wouldn't have done that to herself. She's a brave Gem. She stood up to a TOPAZ! We just need to have some faith in her," Amethyst comforted him, putting an arm around his neck. "I bet she'll wake up with a big smile upon her face,"

"Yeah, you're right," He threw his tissue to the other side of the room. "It's just... If we leave her here, what will happen if she wakes up while we're gone?"

Suddenly, he felt a small paw touch his back. He turned around to see his corrupted blue friend with a crayon in her mouth. On the ground in front of her was a note written in scruffy handwriting on a torn piece of paper.

 _I'll look after her._

Steven tightly hugged Lapis, making her drop the crayon that the note had been written with.

"Thank you Lapis,"

She gave a small purr-like sound as Steven stroked her back.

"Uhh, Steven?" Amethyst tapped his shoulder. "Do you hear that?"

The barn fell silent as the trio stopped to listen.

"Wha-" Steven turned to look at Peridot, who was still asleep. "Is she...sleep-laughing?"

She was quietly giggling and moving around, a smile upon her face. Her hands were by her head (which, may I remind you, was still hidden by her hair), her fists clenched tightly.

"Has she done that before?!" Steven, yet again, began to panic, crawling over to his girlfriend.

Lapis shook her head. They all exchanged worried glances at eachother before looking back at Peridot.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.


	17. Chapter 17 - Shocking Discoveries

_**Hello everyone!**_

 _ **I've been waiting what feels like forever for you guys to read this chapter! (hehehe)**_

 _ **I'm writing this at 11pm, so please forgive me for spelling and grammar errors.**_

 _ **Thanks for the positive reviews again. It means so much to me - I don't think I can say that enough. I'm really hyped to hear what you think is going to happen next!**_

 _ **I don't have anything left to say so...**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"What's wrong with her?!" Steven asked the others as Amethyst grabbed a comb from the other side of the room. "If she keeps acting strange, she might start doing even weirder things,"

"At least try to get her hair out of her face," She replied, tossing him the blue comb.

He grabbed it and carefully began to brush her hair to the side.

He froze.

"AMETHYST!" He picked Peridot up in his arms. "COME HERE!"

"Alright, alright! I'm coming," She sat herself down next to him and looked at Peridot's face. She gasped.

In place of her right eye was a small, dark-green button. It was a about the size of her regular eye. Her left eye was normal and shut, presumably because she was asleep. Her Gem was perfectly fine, still in the same perfect condition it had been when Steven had healed her. She was still giggling quietly and moving around.

"WE NEED TO HELP HER!" He yelled, picking her up.

"We should probably just let her sleep for now," Amethyst told him, taking the small, green Gem out of his hands and lying her onto the blanket.

"Amethyst, how can you be so calm in a situation like this?!" He stared at her in surprise. "Plus, how were you so calm after I told you what happened to everybody?! DIDN'T YOU CARE?!"

"Of course I care, Ste-man! We've just got to look on the bright side. If we don't look out of the dark, how will we find the light? If we let our emotions control us, how will we ever be strong? If we let our thoughts take away what we have and what we love, how will we ever get past it?" Amethyst felt him tightly hug her. "We need to stay strong...for Peri,"

Steven nodded. "Think..." He released her from the hug as he began to think. _"How are we going to wake her up...?"_ He looked at Peridot's forehead and then at the button she had for her eye. _"...Sleeping...looking different...sewed up...fixed..."_ He suddenly gasped as a plan began to form in his head. "AMETHYST! I THINK I KNOW HOW TO WAKE HER UP!"

"Alright! Spill the beans then!" She gave him a friendly pat on the back.

"A while ago, I managed to talk to Lars in his dreams, remember?" He looked at her.

"Yep!" She put her hands on her hips. She knew where he was going with this.

"Perhaps, if I go to sleep, I'll might be able to talk to her in her dreams and find out what's wrong!" He excitedly explained.

"Nice! I knew you'd be able to figure something out!" Amethyst stood up. "What do you need?"

"Right, I need you to grab me a blanket and a pillow," He told her, looking deeply at Peridot, who had just started laughing even louder. "-And do it quickly!"

"On it!" Amethyst gave him a friendly smile as she ran off to find what he had requested.

Steven turned to Lapis. "Can you look after me and Peri with Amethyst while I'm asleep?"

The corruption gave him a happy howl and a nod before sitting opposite him.

"Thanks, Lapis," He stroked her back as Amethyst returned carrying a blue pillow and a grey blanket. "Have you got everything?"

"You bet I do!" She began to set up the temporary bed next to where Peridot was. "So, is home-girl still ok?"

He put a hand on the Gemstone on her forehead. "I guess so...She's heating up though. Plus she's getting louder,"

"I can tell," She sat next to him and Lapis. "Are you sure that this is gonna work, bro?"

"No," He told her. "It's worth a shot though,"

"True, true," Amethyst laughed. "Heh, P-Dot really must be having a great dream with all that laughing,"

"Let's hope so," Steven began to lay down on the blanket Amethyst had set down for him. "Well...uhh... Good night, I guess?"

"Good night!" Amethyst gave him another happy smile. "You can do it!"

And with that, he fell asleep.

* * *

 _Steven woke calmly. He stretched and opened his eyes – he gasped_

 _He was on a ship (a Homeworld ship, to be exact) and it looked exactly like the one he had been on with Peridot the previous day._

" _Is this...Peridot's dream?" He thought to himself. "If so, this might be a lot more complicated than I imagined. I mean, why on Earth would she be dreaming of this place?"_

 _A quiet noise made him paused. He held his breath, desperately trying to work out what the noise was._

 _It was somebody laughing. They were being very loud, whoever it was._

 _He dashed down the corridors trying to find the source of the laughter. He slowed down as he approached a large hall. Confused and intrigued, he looked through the windows and gasped yet again._

 _Within the darkness of the room, Steven could make out a tall figure dancing with a much smaller figure. The smaller one's mouth was moving – this one was clearly the one laughing. The taller one, however, seemed to not say anything._

 _The two dancers stepped into the light and Steven's eyes widened at the sight._

 _Peridot was dancing with... Topaz?_

 _He pressed his ear against the door, carefully enough to not open it but hard enough to be able to make out a few of the words Peridot was saying. It wasn't clear but it was enough to make his heart stop for a few moments._

" _\- I don't miss – You mean – I enjoy your company and – You should – I'm in control of – dream – Never leaving – I love you, Topaz -"_

" _Oh no," Steven began to panic. "Oh no. She must be controlling her dreams. She HAS to be controlling her dreams! But... that means that what she's just said..." He put a hand on the glass and gave a sigh before looking courageously through the glass again. "I need to get her back before it's too late,"_

 _He put his hand on the door handle and began to shake. "This is going to be tough," He whispered to himself. "Good luck, me,"_

 _The door opened with a creak. As he peered through the open doorway, he suddenly realised that Peridot had stopped dancing and was now staring directly into his eyes._

" _Steven?" She asked. She swiftly spun around. "Topaz, sit down. I'd prefer it if you weren't a part of this" The orange Gem did as Peridot told her. She spun back around to face Steven once again, who was beginning to sweat – he had no idea how this conversation was going to go._

" _A-Am I interrupting something?" He questioned, twiddling his thumbs behind his back. "I-If so, I'm very sorry that-"_

" _Shush," Peridot told him coldly. There was a small sense of anger in her voice. "I don't what to hear what you have to say,"_

" _Peridot, listen to me," He began to shake a little more. "You need to understand. I don't understand why you are upset but you need to come back to reality. I f-"_

" _I SAID QUIET!" She shouted back, cutting his speech short again._

" _P-Please, just t-tell me what's wrong," He begged her, frightened he might upset her again. "W-Was it me?"_

" _Don't be stupid, of course it wasn't you," She looked down at her feet and put her hands behind her back. "It was me. I shouldn't have let you fuse with Amethyst. I shouldn't have ran away when you tried to shatter me back on Mask Island. I shouldn't have let you bring me back to life when Topaz-"_

" _Peri, it wasn't your fault! Besides, if you weren't still alive, I probably wouldn't be eit-"_

" _Leave," Peridot cut in sternly. "I don't want to hurt you any more so leave,"_

" _What? No!" Steven objected. "I need you!"_

" _No you don't!" She snapped back. You'd be better off with someone who won't hurt you like me! Besides, I'm where I belong..." She briefly glanced at Topaz, who was still sat patiently upon the floor behind her. "...And I'm with the people I belong with..." She turned back to Steven, who was beginning to cry. "...This is where I want to be. This is where I HAVE to be. I've hurt you too much and I've just been a problem all of this time. That's why I'm on this ship. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm with Topaz," She shut her eyes for a moment before turning away. "Now leave,"_

" _P-Peri..." Steven was lost for words. He was both stunned, shocked and terrified at the same time. He took another deep breath. "...This isn't real. This a dream. A fantasy you made to punish yourself. You can get out of this. You can save yourself. You just need to forgive yourself and move on. Then we can be together again," He held his hand out to her, even though she couldn't see it. She didn't turn around. She didn't bother to look. This scared Steven even more. Yet, he kept trying. "Just take my hand. We can get through this togeth-"_

" _I SAID LEAVE!" Peridot spun around and Steven suddenly saw three large floating objects flying towards him. He didn't bother to look at them. He didn't care. Whatever they were, they were headed straight towards him. More tears leaked from his eyes as he saw Peridot just staring at him, her own eyes filled with tears. She growled before turning away. "AND STAY OUT!"_

 _One of the objects flew straight into his forehead and he crashed to the floor. He was hurt and confused, unable to process what was going on._

 _And with that, he collapsed straight onto the floor._

* * *

Steven woke with a sudden jolt. He immediately sat up and looked around. Sat by his side were Amethyst and Lapis, both trying to comfort him.

"Are you ok?" Amethyst put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Surprisingly, this didn't hurt Steven at all, despite what had happened what seemed like just mere minutes ago.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm not in pain, don't worry," He reassured them. "Just a little dazed,"

"Did you talk to Peri? When is she coming back?" Amethyst asked.

He froze before speaking.

"She's not coming back. She's gone... forever,"


	18. Chapter 18 - Damaged Sorrow

_**Hey everybody!**_

 ** _It's been too long. There have been lots of exams recently and I'm still waiting for the results._** ** _Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my story. I've been focusing on exams and studying so I've had incredibly busy. After my computer stopped working a while back and I had to redownload everything, this year really hasn't started very well... I'm back now, though!_**

 ** _Thanks for the reviews everyone! You guys are awesome!_**

 ** _Things are going to get pretty dark soon_** ** _. Be prepared._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

"WHAT?!" Amethyst yelled, falling backwards in shock. "What d'you mean by 'gone'?!"

"I-I..." He paused, his heart feeling like it was being torn apart while he thought about everything.

"Well?" She gripped his shoulder in worry. "We need to know what's wrong!"

"P-Peri... She's in a dream... and... she won't wake up..." He felt tears begin to grow in his eyes – a feeling that now seemed common.

Lapis nudged Steven's hand in an attempt to comfort him. He noticed this and began to stroke the back of her neck.

"...She said that she was sorry and that she didn't want to hurt me any more. I tried to talk to her but... she hurt me... physically..." He rubbed his pounding forehead, suddenly realising that it still hurt. "The pain is still there, even though it was a dream,"

"That must hurt. Let me check your temperature," Amethyst gently laid a hand on his forehead, unintentionally making it sting even more. He groaned with pain. "Whoops, sorry dude,"

"Eh, it's ok," He replied.

"I just can't believe she's actually gone..." Amethyst twiddled her thumbs.

"...Me neither..."

There was a long sorrow-filled silence. Nobody knew what to say or do. Amethyst managed to hold back the tears but Steven began to cry. He missed his girlfriend more than anything.

"What are we meant to do now?" Amethyst asked him. "I mean, we probably shouldn't just stay here and cry for eternity,"

"Yeah, you're right," Steven wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "We should probably go find Garnet,"

"And help Pearl," Amethyst added.

"Yeah," He smiled. "We'll get Pearl back too,"

Lapis spread her wings and gave a happy smile. Immediately recognising her gesture, the two Crystal Gems hopped upon her back. Steven turned his head to look down at Peridot, a few tears gathering in his eyes.

"We'll come back for you too, 'Dot,"

And with that, Lapis leaped into the air and the three were on their way to find Garnet.

* * *

Steven nestled up to Amethyst, who was sat in front of him. The Sun was rising as a beautiful Sunset.

"Amethyst?"

"What's up, dude?" She answered, looking back at him.

"Do you really think we can save everyone? I mean, Garnet is lost and corrupted, probably split up, Pearl is shattered and trapped in my dreams and Peridot..." He paused. "Who knows how she's doing right now!"

"Oh, Steven," Amethyst put a hand his shoulder in a comforting way. "We'll get them back,"

He glanced down at the fields below them. "Promise?"

"Promise,"

The two gave eachother small sympathetic smiles.

"I wonder what Peri is doing right now," Steven lightly rubbed his forehead (It still hurt) and then looked at Amethyst sadly. "I wonder if she misses me..."

* * *

" _Well done, 5XA." Topaz muttered to her as she stood up. "You really messed that one up,"_

" _I told you," She replied. "I'd rather he didn't end up being hurt by me again,"_

" _You're telling me you didn't want to hurt him-" Topaz looked at her and dusted herself off. "-so you knocked him out. What kind of a plan was that?"_

" _Now he won't get hurt again," She attempted to explain._

" _But what if something hurts him in the real world?" Topaz asked. "Your argument is pointless,"_

" _Shush or I'll wish for you to leave," Peridot threatened._

" _You do realise you're talking to yourself, right?" She put a hand on Peridot's shoulder, who quickly stepped back._

" _ENOUGH!" Peridot yelled. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"_

" _Enough, huh?" Topaz retorted. "Didn't you want to be punished?"_

" _Yes, I did but now I just want to go home and protect Steven,"_

" _That's a shame..." Topaz pulled Peridot closer. "...because the punishment hasn't even started yet,"_

 _Peridot yelped in surprise as something grabbed her hand. Terrified and nervous, she looked down at her side._

 _Topaz held out the palm of Peridot's hand. She ran her fingers down to her wrist, where she stopped abruptly._

 _With a sudden movement, she pushed her thumbs down on Peridot's wrist in a strange way which Peridot didn't understand._

 _Peridot tried to move but she was unable to. Her whole body, aside from her head, was frozen. No matter how hard she tried, she was motionless._

 _Topaz stopped again. One of her fingers were pointed directly at the center of her lover's wrist. She smiled as Peridot looked at her pleadingly._

" _You poor, poor Gem," Topaz shook her head."You have no idea what's about to happen to you,"_

 _Peridot bit her lip in terrified anticipation_

 _Topaz giggled. "You might want to look up,"_

 _Peridot took her advice and stared upwards. She gasped._

 _Upon the ceiling were four thin l-shaped metal objects tied to a pieces of string. The part of the strings that wasn't attached to the metal objects were hovering in the air._

 _Peridot's eyes widened. She'd seen this type of machine a long time ago._

" _Do you recognise it?" Topaz asked, as if knowing that she knew it._

" _It's a controlling disrupter, a machine used to make a Gem completely powerless and deactivates their ability to move. The strings mean that somebody else can control what they do, similarly to a puppet, meaning that-" Peridot stopped abruptly, suddenly realising what her punishment was going to be._

" _And it's exactly your size," Topaz smiled demonically. "It's been made especially for you,"_

" _So the machine back in the first ship was doing to me back when Steven taught me about colours must have been Homeworld's Gem measuring system! It was draining my power not so that it could hurt me... It was so that I was too broken to realise what was going on!"_

" _Wow, did it seriously take you THIS LONG to figure that out? I guess you really are as stupid as I thought!" Topaz exclaimed, cackling with laughter._

" _I am a Peridot, which is not a type of Gem allowed in that area. Thus, I had no idea that it was a Homeworld measuring system," She pointed out. This made Topaz stop laughing and glare at her._

" _No. You had to have been allowed," Topaz growled, pushing . "SHE was allowed,"_

" _What?" Peridot questioned._

" _She was allowed in there with me. She had to deal with the captured Crystal Gems from the rebellion and I worked alongside her. She was the supervisor and I was the guard. We were always together, whether we wanted to be or not. She was everything to me. Then she asked for my help..." Topaz began to shake while recalling her past memories. "She asked me to get an escape pod to take out the power system and replace it. I didn't quite trust her but being both her loyal guard and her lover, I got her what she asked. Then she turned to me and whispered that she was sorry and to stay away... and got inside it. The escape pod raced towards Earth and supposedly landed on the Strawberry Battlefields. I lost stunned and confused. I had been betrayed by my only friend. My one and only 5XA was gone. I felt like I'd lost everything. I really HAD lost everything,"_

" _Oh my stars, I can only imagine how you felt. I guess the b-" Peridot began. She was swiftly cut off by the sound of the controlling disrupter lowering so that two of the metal parts where aimed directly at the back of her heels and the other two were aimed at her wrists._

"We're _the only ones here..." Topaz whispered in her ear. "...Nobody can save you now,"_


	19. Chapter 19 - Nervous Questions

**_Hello everybody!_**

 ** _I'm back! I'm SO SO sorry that this story is taking so long to come out. I'm trying my hardest, promise._**

 ** _Anyway, I really want to thank you. As I'm writing this, this story is two followers away from 50. I can't believe it. You're the best. I read EVERY review and I can't thank you enough. It means so much to me that people (or Gems, if some of you aren't human. Idk) like you take the time to read and review my story. Thank you. There are plenty more chapters yet to come so be prepared!_**

 ** _This chapter (kinda) leaves off on a cliffhanger and I really want to hear what you think is going to happen, based on a certain character's visions. Hehe..._**

 ** _SPOILERS (Sorta... Not really but I'll warn you just in case): The season 5 trailer/promo at SDCC has me very worried as to Lapis' loyalty. Please don't abandon Steven and the Crystal Gems! D:_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _Peridot began to panic. There was no way out of this. The moment that the controlling disrupter activated, she would be completely unable to control her movements and Topaz could do whatever she wanted to her and she would only be able to watch._

" _Got any last words?" The orange Gem laughed, a small control pad with a red button appearing before her. "Now's your last chance to speak for the rest of your existence,"_

" _Well, there are a few questions I'd like to ask," She replied. "If you don't mind, of course,"_

" _Fine. What do you want to know?" Topaz put her hands beside the button on the control pad. "Try to make it quick,"_

" _Well, I'd quite like to know what happened after 5XA escaped to the Strawberry Battlefields," She requested._

 _Topaz groaned. "If I must," The control pad disappeared again. She began to think before she spoke again._

" _I was so frustrated at the time. She had abandoned me. I wanted to make her pay for leaving me. I stole an escape pod myself and headed towards Earth. I arrived inside a Kindergarten, where I was then informed I was to go to the Strawberry Battlefields to fight the rebels. I think you can guess who I fought there," She explained, a hint of sarcasm in the last sentence._

" _Yes, I'd rather not hear a detailed explanation about that part," Peridot muttered._

" _Anything else?" Topaz asked._

 _Peridot paused for a moment. She actually had no idea what else to say._

" _Uhh... What is your favourite type of ice-cream?"_

" _What a stupid question! Either strawberry or toffee. Actually, chocolate is pretty cool t-"_

" _TOPAZ!"_

 _Topaz turned around and looked at the doorway, where the sudden shout had come from. There stood a hooded figure, who's features were masked by a long black cape as dark as the night. She was relatively tall. Her voice was soft but still threatening. Peridot, who was incredibly surprised and scared, found herself unable to think straight._

" _STOP THIS MADNESS AND LET HER GO!"_

 _As she yelled, the mystery woman pointed to Peridot and pulled her hood down to reveal the face of a purple Gem with long velvet coloured hair. Topaz just smiled evilly at this new arrival._

" _So, you want me to let her go?" She laughed. "Don't ruin my fun,"_

 _Topaz clicked her fingers and with that, the stranger disappeared and the control pad which had Topaz had previously dismissed reappeared and she put her hand over the button. She glanced over at Peridot who was sweating heavily, unable to move._

" _Now that we're alone again for a few minutes, how about we get started?"_

" _Please, Topaz! You don't have to do this!" Peridot begged. "Please!"_

 _Topaz giggled. "Enjoy the show,"_

* * *

It had been five hours since Steven and Amethyst had found Sapphire, successfully uncorrupted her and Lapis, returned safely to the barn and explained everything that had happened. Now, Steven was impatiently fiddling with an old toy that Peridot and Lapis had previously discarded, Amethyst was finding more blankets for Peridot, Sapphire was using her future vision while holding Peridot in her arms and Lapis was making meep-morp.

"Ruby appears to be somewhere in Empire City," Sapphire calmly called out. The other three looked up at her. Lapis and Amethyst smiled but Steven didn't. His fingers were crossed and he had a nervous expression on his face. Sapphire realised why and used her future vision to see how Peridot was. "A-As for Peridot, I believe she will wake up soon," She lied. She covered Peridot's sleeping physical form with a blanket Amethyst had handed to her and stood back up. Steven grinned and ran over to her as quick as he could, the others close behind. He knelt down beside Peridot and looked at her button eye nervously.

"I'm so excited to see her again b-but... What should I say? What should I do? Why does she still have a button for an eye? Why isn't she moving? Is she alright?" He questioned, his heart racing and his mind filling with all of the possible bad outcomes. "What if she doesn't like me anymore? What if you're wrong? What if she's not coming back? What if she's d-"

"Relax, dude. If Sapphire says Peridot is going to wake up, she's definitely going to wake up. Let's just relax. The least thing we want is for her to get upset again," Amethyst comforted him, putting an arm around his neck. "I made a promise that we'd get everybody back and I'm not going to break it,"

"Amethyst is right. We're going to save everybody," Lapis told him, giving him a hug. "No matter how long it takes, we're going to save her,"

* * *

Hours passed ever so slowly. Eventually, Amethyst, Lapis and Sapphire realised that there was no point waiting for something that might take an eternity so they left to find Ruby but Steven refused to come with them. It began to rain and the clouds darkened. After about three hours it became a thunderstorm. He watched sadly as Peridot continued to sleep, unmoving and silent.

"Please wake up," He whispered. "I miss you,"

Still, there was no answer. As the rain continued to fall, his hope started to vanish.

" _We were so close,"_ He told himself. _"Why'd I have to go and mess everything up? If it weren't for me, we'd have been together,"_ Tears silently rolled down his cheeks. _"If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be gone. What a great birthday this has been!"_ He laughed half-heartedly before giving a sigh. _"Sapphire said Peridot be back ages ago. What's taking her so long?Maybe..."_ He looked out of the door at the rain dripping from the roof. _"Maybe she really IS gone forever,"_

* * *

"Uhh, Sapphire? This isn't Empire City," Lapis turned to look at the small blue Gem.

"I know, I know. It's just... I need to talk to you both," Sapphire glanced down at the ground in front of her.

"What's up?" Amethyst asked.

"It's Peridot. No matter how many times I try to see into her future, all I see are...bars,"

"Bars?!" Lapis exchanged a surprised look with Amethyst. "What do mean? What type of bars?"

"Prison bars," Sapphire looked up at them both, a slight tremble in her voice. "She's behind prison bars,"

"WHAT?!" Lapis yelled in surprise. "Why is she behind PRISON BARS?!"

"I don't know," Sapphire replied. "Oh! I see something!"

Amethyst stared directly into her eyes. "What is it?"

"The other side of the prison bars. There's just darkness... And a screen...it's a large screen... I can't make out what's on it but... Peridot...she's watching it and crying and...yelling something,"

"Yelling what?" Lapis grabbed tightly onto Amethyst's shoulder.

"I-I... I don't know what she's yelling. Then... there's screaming... on the screen... Then... she shuts her eyes. That's where my vision goes blank," Sapphire wiped her eye with her hand. Amethyst and Lapis were stunned.

"So... There's absolutely nothing after that?" Lapis ran her fingers through her short, dark-blue hair. "That's where her future ends?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I know it's stupid of me for not telling Steven but he looked so desperate to see her again. I couldn't find the courage to tell him," She admitted.

"Aren't there any other possible futures?" Amethyst looked at her in disbelief. "Any at all?"

"No," Sapphire sorrowfully replied. "I'm sorry,"

"That's it then. Peridot isn't coming back," Lapis muttered. "Ever,"

There was a long silence full of sadness and shock. Nobody knew what to say or what to do until Amethyst spoke up again.

"Could you, perhaps, be able to see Pearl's future?"

"I'll try," Sapphire focused for a moment and mumbled something that was inaudible to the others. Then, in a sudden unpredictable move, she quickly pushed her hands against the side of her head, as if trying to block out a sound.

"What's wrong? Do you hear something?" Lapis asked.

"Pearl hears a scream from elsewhere. A scream of agony...desperation...heartbreak...lost hope..." Sapphire uncovered her ears. "I'd rather not continue seeing her future for now,"

"C-Could you hear who was screaming? C-Can you tell us?" Lapis was terrified. So was Amethyst.

"It sounded like...Peridot,"


	20. Chapter 20 - Desperate Screams

_**Hey everybody!**_

 _ **We made it to 20 Chapters! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I couldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for all of the wonderful support you've given me! Thank you for the favourite, follows and reviews - it means more than I could ever express in words.**_

 _ **This is longest chapter so far, with 2,927 words (not including this Author's Note), especially for reaching 20 Chapters :D**_

 _ **Another feels chapter - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

" _NO!" Pearl yelled. She had been teleported back into the shadows and was alone once again. "I need to save Peridot!"_

 _Despite how worried she was by seeing Peridot captured by another Gem, of whom she had recognised as a Topaz, she was secretly a tiny bit glad to know she wasn't alone in what she had previously thought to have been eternal darkness._

 _However, that didn't matter right now. The Topaz had very clearly planned to do something terrible to-_

" _Stop,"_

 _Pearl felt a hand on her shoulder, which brought her thoughts back to the present. She turned around._

" _P-Peridot?!" She yelled, surprised but excited. "It can't b-"_

" _No," She interrupted. "I'm not Peridot. Well, I'm not the one you speak of,"_

" _Huh?" Pearl stood there very confused. She looked at the Peridot's forehead and suddenly realised her mistake._

 _This Peridot looked almost exactly like the Peridot she knew, except the Gem on this one's forehead was circular._

" _I should probably warn you," The Peridot told her. "Things are about to get loud,"_

" _Why should I trust you?" Pearl asked. "Who are you?"_

" _That doesn't matter," She replied. "Just trust me,"_

 _A few minutes later, Pearl could hear loud machine sounds. They were so loud, in fact, that she was actually getting a headache. However, the headache was one of her least concerns at this moment._

 _Then, the machine sounds stopped unexpectedly. There was silence..._

… _And then a scream._

 _That wasn't just anybody's scream. It was PERIDOT's scream. Pearl wasn't sure what hurt more; the volume of the scream or the pain in her voice. She'd failed to save her._

* * *

 _Peridot screamed in agony until couldn't scream any more. The entire machine had been set so that she received as much pain as possible without getting poofed. She was still unable to move, barely able to even think straight._

 _She could feel her physical form beginning to close around the controlling disrupter which had been inserted into her wrists and ankles. Her vision was very blury and unstable; everything seemed to be turning around in circles which, as she could feel, it wasn't. She began to sob as the pain began to subside. She was still frozen_

" _Now, wasn't that a pleasant experience, honey? I could tell by the intense screaming and crying," Topaz smirked. "You have a talent for it. Perhaps, maybe, you should practice screaming a little more often? I could do practice if I wanted to... but I have a better plan," She caressed the side of Peridot's cheek and wiped one of her tears from under her visor. "A MUCH better plan,"_

" _S-S-Steven...?" Peridot managed to mutter the name, despite the pain and struggle it caused her._

" _Don't worry, honey. I promise-" Topaz put a hand right on Peridot's shoulder. "-that I'll let you say goodbye,"_

 _Peridot wasn't quite sure how to feel. "R-R-Really...?" She felt something tighten up inside her and she found herself unable to open her mouth any more._

" _Oh yes. I'll let you say goodbye-" She gave her signature smile. "-right before you kill him,"_

 _Peridot's eyes widened. She had expected to have been made a slave or experience unending torture. But to kill Steven? That was a fate she had never even imagined._

 _The more she thought about it, the more it became obvious that it was always Topaz's intentions. Topaz had been forced to shatter 5XA. All Topaz wanted was for her, who she still mistakenly thought was 5XA, to experience the same thing._

 _Topaz had known everything that would happen all along. She had known that Peridot would find the pictures of her and 5XA. She had known that Steven would believe the edited hologram. She had known Peridot's dream. She had known Peridot would escape her cell. She had known Peridot would jump in front of Steven. She'd known Peridot would shatter her. She'd known Steven would fuse with Amethyst. She'd known Peridot would summon her in her dreams. Peridot began to think she was missing something._

 _THE NOTE!_

 _Peridot suddenly remembered the note Topaz had given to her at Sadie's house._

 _'I know what you're thinking, honey.'_

 _Topaz's reactions – they hadn't been genuine. It was like a game. Topaz had planned everything. Yet, there was a part of the story she felt she was still missing. She just wasn't sure what it-_

" _I'd hate to interrupt your thoughts but I couldn't help but notice how horrified you are,"_

 _Peridot began to slip back into reality._

" _I can tell just by the look in your eyes. So stunned and horrified..." Topaz giggled. "...just like Steven will be!"_

 _An attempt to break the controlling disrupter that was somewhere inside her physical form really did seem impossible. The small green Gem had no escape._

" _Now, I'd better get you where I want you," Topaz laughed yet again. "I've been waiting for this! Although, it'd be more fun if you didn't get to hear or see where I was taking you,"_

 _Peridot felt something moving inside her physical form – the controlling disrupter. The feeling was painful and strange – she wasn't quite sure which feeling it was more. It was clearly heading for her head. She gave an internal sigh as she felt it stop._

 _She knew what was coming._

 _She screamed yet again as it began to shock her Gem with electricity. She could feel her consciousness slipping away._

 _For a moment, Peridot felt something she hadn't felt in what seemed like forever – happiness. She was escaping the harshness of reality. She was escaping the agony. She was escaping the torture._

 _Only for a moment._

* * *

The rain dripping through the cracks in the ceiling and the half-broken morps were his only company as he continued to wait for Peridot to wake up. The Gems were still out so Steven continued to sit by his sleeping girlfriend.

"C'mon 'Dot. Any minute now..." He waited patiently for a few minutes before laying her physical form on his lap. He put one arm under her neck and the other around her waist. "It's no use. You really are..."

He sniffled and one solitary tear rolled down his left cheek. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, if you even care any more..."

/

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, if you even care any more..."

 _That voice! Peridot slowly opened her eyes. She stood up – she was in control of her physical form again! She paused briefly as she realised where she was._

 _She appeared to be in some sort of prison._

 _Since there was no windows or door, she decided to walk over the the metal bars at the front of her cell. She tried to look past it, searching for something, ANYTHING, in the darkness that seemed to fill the rest of the area. That's when she noticed that there was a screen. It was rather large, about twice her height and was pitch black. Peridot gasped._

 _The screen was Topaz's vision. She was inside Peridot's REAL physical form._

 _She watched the screen intently but there was just darkness, much like everywhere else._

/

"I just wish I could've said goodbye," Steven told the still sleeping green Gem that he held in his arms. "Now, I'll never even know if you still love me,"

/

 _Peridot started to sob. She couldn't talk to him, as much as she wanted to. She longed to see him and feel him and tell him how much she cared about him. This was torture._

 _But she knew that this wasn't the torture Topaz had planned. She knew what was going to happen next._

/

"I-I'm... I'M SORRY!" Steven yelled, putting a hand on the button that covered one of her eyes. "But it doesn't matter... You're gone,"

He could do nothing but sit and cry. He'd lost the Gem whom he'd cared for the most. The Gem that had taught him so much about life beyond the Earth. The Gem who'd given up everything to save him.

Sadness filled his body. His heart physically hurt. He'd do anything to just see her again. He blamed himself for everything – for the invasion, for Topaz, for her... death. He craved her smile and laugh, the happy sparkle in her eyes, the feel of her holding his hand...

Nothing could possibly be more painful than loss.

/

" _I'M HERE, STEVEN! I LOVE YOU!" She yelled at the still-blank screen. She knew he couldn't hear her. It was pointless but the tiniest part of her was telling her to try._

/

Steven ran his fingers through her hair and looked up at the stars through a whole in the ceiling which Lapis had accidentally made.

"What's taking the Gems so long? They should've been back hours ago," He spoke quietly. "They've probably just given up trying to get me to leave you and have gone to save Pearl themselves,"

/

" _The Gems? He saved them?" Her eyes widened. "He found the corruption cure?"_

/

"Now... I'll never get to see you again," He whispered. He stared at her shut eye (and the button). "I miss the sparkle in your eyes. Oh, how I wish I could see you smile,"

/

 _Peridot smiled instinctively. If Steven wanted her to smile, she'd smile, even if he couldn't see her._

/

"I bet, if you could hear me, you'd smile for me," He wiped a tear from the side of his face. "At least, I hope you would,"

Then the most remarkable thing happened. He watched as Peridot's eyelid began to flutter open.

We watched in astonishment. Tears trickled down his cheeks.

/

 _Peridot watched in joy as the screen began to adjust to the light of the setting of which it was showing. She'd thought she'd never get to see him again. She became overwhelmed with happiness – It was Steven! HER Steven! THE REAL STEVEN!_

/

She was awake! HIS Peridot! THE REAL PERIDOT!

"PERIDOT! YOU'RE ALIVE!" His heart was racing. Just when he'd given up hope, here she was.

Yet, something just seemed off about her. She wasn't leaping into his arms. She wasn't crying with joy. She wasn't laughing. She wasn't joking around. She wasn't speaking. She wasn't even SMILING.

"A-Are you okay?" He asked her.

"I don't know, are you?" She replied.

Something was off. Very off.

/

 _Peridot's smile quickly disappeared._

" _RUN! IT'S NOT ME! IT'S TOPAZ! RUN!" She yelled at the screen, grabbing onto the strong metal bars in front of her. "STEVEN!_

/

"Well, uhh... I'm glad to see you! I thought you were gone!" Steven told her uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm not gone, honey. I'm right here, Steven. It's ME." She replied.

" _'Honey'? Where'd she even get that from?"_ He thought to himself. _"...Eh, who cares,"_

/

" _STEVEN! RUN!" Peridot shouted even louder. Something inside of her was telling her that she could still save him._

/

"We need to tell the Gems that you're awake!" Steven suddenly blurted out.

"We're not going to see the Gems," She told him sternly.

"Why not?" He questioned. Peridot was acting much stranger than normal.

"I have a better idea," He backed away slightly as she stood up. "A MUCH better idea!"

"What's the plan?" He asked inquisitively as she began to search through a pile of objects in the corner of the room.

"The plan?" Peridot turned around and smiled. "We're going to play tag,"

"Tag?" He repeated. "Why tag?"

"I don't know how you play tag on Earth but on Homeworld, we have a certain set of rules,"

/

" _OH MY STARS! RUN! GO!" Peridot shouted desperately. "PLEASE!"_

/

"Alright! Let's her them!" Steven suggested, standing up and putting his hands on his hips. He had always wondered what games they played on Homeworld.

"If I tag you, you lose," She smiled devilishly. Steven didn't notice.

"So, what happens if I lose?" He smiled. "Do I have to do a dare or something?"

"It's simple," She picked something up from the pile and hid it behind her back. "If you lose, I win,"

"Obviously," Steven sarcastically replied in a happy tone.

"D'you wanna know what happens if I win?" She walked up to him.

"What?" He asked.

She took her hands from behind her back and showed him the object that she was holding. He gasped.

A hammer.

"If I win, I get my revenge,"

Steven began to sweat. "P-Peri, I-I'm not sure that I like this v-version of the game,"

"Trust me, you'll love it,"

/

" _STEVEN! RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!" Peridot yelled._

/

"...Three..."

Steven ran for the door. However, the moment he got there, it slammed shut. He tried to pull it open but it was jammed. He looked around; there was no way out. He was trapped and confused.

"...Two..."

He continued to pull at the door. He had to get out. He just HAD to! Why was Peridot doing this? Why was she going to kill him?

"...One..."

Where were the Gems? Why weren't they coming to save him? Couldn't Sapphire see what what was happening? Why was Peridot acting so much like... Topaz?

"...Zero!"

/

" _JUST BREAK THE DOOR!" Peridot yelled. "QUICKLY!"_

 _She grabbed the front of her shirt in fear. This was all her fault._

/

"I'M COMING!" She yelled, the hammer in her hand.

She began to run at him and threw the hammer at him. Luckily he dodged just in time and it flew over his head. He reached out to grab it, only to find she had already beaten him to it.

"Did you really think you could convince me, Steven? I'm Peridot 5XG and I'm not your lover,"

Steven felt like his heart had just been crushed. She didn't love him anymore.

/

" _N-NO!" Peridot begged, screaming at the top of her voice while tightening her grip on the ."T-TOPAZ! PLEASE! S-STOP! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST LET HIM GO!"_

 _She watched in desperation as they ran around the barn, Steven, narrowly missing every attack. Then her metaphorical heart broke for the very last time._

/

Steven was cornered.

His mind was racing and his heart was broken. He sank to the floor and wished it was a dream and that he'd wake up.

He looked up at her. "Can I ask you a question?"

/

 _"STEVEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUSH HER OR SOMETHING!" She yelled at the screen again._

/

"What is it?" She replied.

"Can she hear me?" He asked. "Can she hear me, Topaz?"

She froze.

"Can Peridot hear me, Topaz?"

/

 _Peridot tightened her grip on the bars. He'd realised it was Topaz in her body._

/

"Why does it matter?" She answered back snappily.

"Peridot. Listen to me. Never stop trying. You can break free. You are Peridot. You are strong, brave, independent... Never give up, even if you lose me in the process,"

/

" _NO! STEVEN! I CAN SAVE YOU! DON'T GIVE UP! YOU CAN PUSH HER OUT!" She yelled. "Wait! Push her out... THE SCREEN!"_

 _Peridot reached an arm through the bars. As she did so, the controlling disrupter began to shock her Gem with electricity again. Peridot screamed but continued through the pain._

/

"I know you can hear me and I just want to say... I'm sorry. But please, please try to make it out. You can do it. The Crystal Gems need you... And I need you too. Never give up," He looked at her, sadness in his voice but there was a smile upon his face. "I know you can do it,"

/

" _Just...a little...further..." She clenched her teeth in an attempt to block out about the immense pain and agony she was in. She was determined to save him, no matter what pain she had to go through to do so. "Come on...just a little... further..."_

/

"Is that all you have to say?" She looked at him with her one eye.

"Yes,"

"Good," She raised the hammer above his head. He looked down at his feet in reparation for the blow that was about to come.

/

 _"NO!" Peridot screamed. Her fingers were just centimetres away from the screen._

/

"I love you, Peridot. I always have and I always will," He muttered

/

 _She shut her eyes as she heard the swing of the hammer crash down on something. Peridot had been too late. Yet, she didn't stop._

" _NO! I'M NOT TOO LATE!" She continued to reach out. She wouldn't accept it._

" _He's gone, you know," Topaz's voice echoed throughout the cell. Peridot didn't pay attention. "He's not coming back. You killed him,"_

" _HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Peridot shouted. Her Gem was badly damaged but she didn't care. "I JUST NEED TO REACH THE SCREEN!"_

" _There's no point, now. It's too late. The controlling disrupter is going to keep shocking you until you put your arm back inside. Just give up and I'll let you go," Topaz spoke softly as if trying to be friendly. "I've already done what I needed,"_

" _NO!" She used the very last of her energy into reaching out her fingers to touch to touch the screen._

 _And she did it._

 _A bright light erupted from the screen as the glass smashed. Peridot gasped and the white light flew inside her mouth._

" _Well, this is not what I expected. I expected some kind of explosion or teleportation or someth-WOAH!"_

 _Bright colours began to flash in front of her eyes so she shut them as quick as she could._

 _Unfortunately, the pain had exhausted her and she fell asleep, basking in the bright colours around her._


	21. Chapter 21 - Alternate Universes

_**Hey everybody!**_

 _ **I'm back with another Chapter! Apologies for being late...again...**_

 ** _Thanks for the reviews. They (Along with follows and favourites) are my main motivation to keep writing. Thank you! *Sends an internet hug to everybody*_**

 ** _No Lapis, Amethyst and Sapphire in this chapter, sorry! Don't worry, they'll be back in the next one._**

 _ **VERY IMPORTANT: This chapter starts just before the ending of the previous chapter but it's Steven's side of the story. You'll see when you read it, I'm sure you'll understand.**_

 _ ** _ **Enjoy!**_**_

* * *

"Is that it?" She looked at him with her one eye.

"Yes,"

"Good," She raised the hammer above his head. He looked down at his feet in preparation for the blow that was about to come.

…

…

…

Steven opened his eyes as he heard the sound of the hammer crash to the floor. The trembling physical form of Peridot, of which Topaz was in control of, had tears streaming down her face like a waterfall, the hammer at her side. She shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, falling to her knees in sadness.

He watched in shock and terror, his heart beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst.

"I can't do this. I can't do this," She put her head in her hands. "I can't kill him, just like I couldn't kill 5XA," She looked up at him. "Steven Quartz Universe... That's your name right? RIGHT?!"

"Y-Yes," He whispered. Now wasn't the time to lie. Topaz had spared him and was having a break-down – he shouldn't risk it again.

"...Peridot Universe... That actually has quite a nice ring to it..." She sighed. "...The show must go on... somehow..."

He thought for a moment. If he were to ask, would Topaz attack him?

Oh well.

"C-Can Peridot still hear m-?"

"No," She wiped the tears from under her (well, Peridot's) visor and stared directly into his eyes. "I'm so sorry,"

"F-For what?" He gripped the front of his t-shirt.

"I can't kill you...but that doesn't mean I can let Peridot know that. Since she's trapped inside her Gem, I can create an alternate universe within it,"

"Like when you were both inside the ship together?" Steven asked.

"Correct," She picked up at the hammer and just held it in her hands and felt it, not about to use it. "A universe where she – I – killed you. I can keep Peridot inside that alternate universe and make her believe that it's reality. It's either that or you both have to die alone. These are the two possible outcomes for the future. I'll let you decide which. I don't want to be in control anymore,"

Steven ran his hands through his hair. He had two choices.

He could let Peridot live but spend the rest of eternity believing that she killed him. Choosing this option would mean that they'd both live but Peridot would have to live forever thinking that she'd killed him.

Or.

He could let them both die alone. If this was his decision, it would mean they'd both die and he'd die knowing that Peridot was about to be shattered in some horrific way that he couldn't imagine.

His mind crowded with terrible thoughts and scenarios.

A thought came into his head: What would the Crystal Gems do?

Ruby and Sapphire might fight all of time without him there to help them make up. Amethyst would be the only Shorty Squad member left. Lapis... well... The only reasons she was still on Earth was to be with Steven and Peridot. She might leave and get captured by Homeworld again. The entire Temple would be a mess without Pearl. PEARL! He'd almost forgotten about her. Everybody else was probably already distraught by the fact she'd been shattered. He couldn't let them be alone.

"Topaz... I've made up my mind," He clenched his fists and looked away, trying to avoid eye-contact with Peridot's physical form. "I'd rather that you let us both live but let Peridot believe that I'm...you know..."

"If that's what you wish. Quiet and I'll talk to her," Topaz looked down at the ground in front of her and shut her eyes."He's gone, you know. He's not coming back. You killed him,"

As he listened to Topaz speak, he suddenly realised that this whole time, Peridot must have still been trying to save him. Steven felt himself tear up again. His eyes were red and sore from the amount of water that had leaked from it over the past week.

"There's no point, now. It's too late. The controlling disrupter is going to keep shocking you until you put your arm back inside. Just give up and I'll let you go,"

Steven knew that Topaz would never let her go. She was teasing her in her usual cruel way. However, their was something in her voice, an unusual softness, that told him she wasn't lying.

"I've already done what I needed," Topaz whispered, before opening her eyes and standing up and walking up to Steven. She gently laid the hammer on the ground next to them both and spoke quietly in a monotone voice."She's going to break the screen now. I'm sorry,"

Peridot was going to live - Steven didn't want to know anything else... except for one thing.

"What about you, Topaz?" He muttered. "What are you going to do?"

"I-I...I don't know," She looked away in embarrassment. "To be honest, I never thought I'd ever get to have my revenge. After I let 5XA pretend to be shattered, I just ran away. I thought my life was over. Hurt and traumatised by seeing my love abandon me for the rebels, I ran away but...but...but...I MISSED HER! I missed her so much, I took the knowledge learnt by a group of Rubies about the Earth and planned a corruption song and a raid, all of which would avoid the Peridot who had been located on Earth. I never got the time to check the files. I thought that 5XA was still alive. I thought 5XG was 5XA. This insanity led me to believe so. I was wrong. Very wrong. I stole your lover, tortured her and imprisoned her. I guess 5XA ended up getting shattered in the war by another Gem. I'm so sorry. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!"

"H-Hey, it's okay," Steven put a hand on her shoulder. He remembered when Peridot had betrayed him and abandoned him in the dream which they'd shared. How he had overheard her tell Topaz that she loved her. How she had shouted and screamed at him. How she had thrown things to knock him out. He could only imagine how it felt for Topaz, who'd loved 5XA unconditionally for thousands, perhaps millions of years, to have to have been betrayed. It explained so many of her actions."I bet, if she was here, she would give you a great big hug,"

"You really think so?"

"Sure! Do you know where she was supposedly shattered?"

"In this very field,"

"Why don't you make a memorial for her?"

"Will it bring her back?"

Steven gave a sigh. "Probably not...it'll make you feel better, though. I'll help you make it,"

"Shall we get started?"

"Of course!"

* * *

" _W-WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Pearl shouted. The darkness of which she was stood in was beginning to quickly flash many different colours._

" _Oh no," The Peridot that stood by her side whispered. "She did it,"_

 _Pearl turned to face the Gem that reminded her ever so much of the Peridot from the Crystal Gems. "Did what?"_

" _...Topaz..." The small, green Gem muttered. "...She couldn't do it..."_

" _TOPAZ COULDN'T DO WHAT?!" Pearl yelled, getting very frustrated not only by the fact she wasn't getting an answer but also because the flashing bright colours were beginning to hurt her eyes._

" _...5XG is on her own, now..." She grabbed her Gem worriedly. "We're in trouble,"_

" _Why? What's about to happen to us?" Pearl began to pace around. "Is this because of that Topaz who was with Peridot? Are they both still alive? What about Steven? Is he okay too? He was acting strange last time I saw him. I know he was lying but why? What happened to everybody else?"_

" _SHUT UP AND STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!" She yelled, immediately making Pearl stop talking. "Now, something bad is about to happen to us. Don't panic, it's gonna be quick. Just stay calm and prepare yourself,"_

" _O-Okay..." Pearl stopped pacing around and began to fiddle with her long purple hair._

 _The flashing colours were going so fast that it was hard for their Gems to process._

" _Hold on," The Peridot looked up at her. "Things are about to get crazy,"_

" _Wha-"_

 _The tall purple Gem was cut off when she found herself fall backwards, as if the non-existent floor has broken beneath her, the Peridot falling by her side._

" _WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" She yelled, staring at her new green friend who had a serious expression upon her face._

" _We're going to the barn. The REAL barn," She replied, staring back._

" _What do you mean?" Pearl asked. "There isn't a fake barn. Not that I know of, anyway,"_

" _You'll see,"_

…

" _...My name is Pearl, by the way. I know I look like a Taaffeite right now but I'm a Pearl, promise,"_

" _I'm Peridot 5XA,"_

" _Wait a second..." Pearl's eyes widened. "5XA?"_

" _That's me," She smiled. "Nice to see you again, Pearl,"_

" _You! I remember you!" Pearl covered her mouth, suddenly realising who the green Gem was. "You were the Peridot who joined the Crystal Gems half-way through the fight! Though, weren't you shattered by a Topaz?"_

" _Correct," She laughed. "Quite a surprise to find me alive with you, isn't it? It'd a long story that I really don't have time to explain,"_

" _May I ask just one question?"_

" _Sure," The small green Gem smiled half-heartedly._

" _Is my little boy okay?" Pearl looked desperate as she spoke. "Steven Quartz Universe? He means the galaxy to me and I just want to make sure he's not...you know..."_

" _He's fine. We're going to be fine too..." 5XA smiled before looking away, a frown suddenly appearing on her face. "...but Peridot...oh, how I wish I could say the same for her,"_

* * *

" _...Ugh, my Gem..." Peridot uttered under her breath as she began to wake up. She was lying on her back on some form of wooden floor, from what she could feel. As her eyes flickered open, her sight was blurry and her Gem stung, probably an after-effect of the damaged she had previously taken from the Controlling Disruptor, of which she had successfully broken._

 _For a minute, she just laid there, waiting for the pain to disappear, or at least calm down. Slowly, her vision began to focus again and she could make out the wooden ceiling above her._

" _The barn?" She asked nobody in particular, her voice raspy and quiet from the screaming. She forced herself to stand up, her entire physical form weak from the torture. She looked around._

 _The barn was a mess. Meep-morp was scattered everywhere and part of the ceiling looked as if it was about to collapse._

 _Then she saw it...the still, unmoving body in the corner._

 _She ran over to it as fast as she could. "Please say he's alive, please say he's alive, PLEASE SAY HE'S ALIVE!"_

 _The sight was horrifying. There wasn't a smile upon his face and his clothes were stained red from a substance of which Peridot hadn't seen before. That same substance was pouring out of the top of his head and onto the floor. A hammer rested on the floor beside him._

 _She reached a hand down and lightly put it on one of his shoulders. Cold – dead._

" _O-Oh...Oh...Oh m-my...s-st-t-tars..." She backed away ever so slowly and carefully. "I-I..." She looked up."...I killed him. H-He's dead,"_

 _...Pain..._

 _...Guilt..._

 _...Agony..._

 _...Regret..._

 _...Sadness..._

 _...Loneliness..._

 _She looked up through the hole in the ceiling up at the stars. She studied them and she remembered when they had both ridden on Lapis together a few nights ago and when Steven had asked her to be his girlfriend._

" _...I never even got the chance to say yes," She fell to her knees and sobbed. "THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!"_

* * *

Topaz looked up at the stars, her hair covering the button of an eye. She had left Peridot's physical form and was now stood alone outside the barn while Steven was asleep.

"Why am I here, when I could be up there beside you?" She asked herself, turning to the memorial lined with flowers that she had made for 5XA. "I can join you," She summoned her signature gun in her hand and pointed it to her Gem. "I can be with you again," Her finger rested upon the trigger. "We'll be a happy family again,"

"STOP!"

Topaz spun around and dropped her Gem in surprise.

No, it couldn't be! This couldn't be real!

"5XA?!"

The green Gem smiled, walking towards her. "I'm back!"

"No, this isn't real!" Topaz yelled, running towards her. "It can't be!"

The two embraced in a long hug, both of them having tears trickle down their cheeks.

"IT REALLY IS YOU!" The yellow-orange Gem danced around with joy. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"I never thought I'd see you again," 5XA smiled, gripping onto her tighter. "I missed you, T,"

"I missed you too, honey,"

/

Steven awoke to the sound of footsteps.

"Huh? Who's there?" Steven spoke loudly, picking up a torch. "I can hear you, whoever you are!"

His eyes widened as he flicked it on.

"Hello, Steven!"

"PEARL!" He jumped out of the sleeping bag that he had been lying in and ran over to her. "YOU'RE BACK!"

She lifted him up in her arms and spun around happily. "You don't know how much I worried about you! I'm just so glad you're safe," She put him down and rustled his hair. "So, where are the others?"

He rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed way. "...I have a lot to catch you up on..."


End file.
